


Elements Under a Moon

by LooLooxix



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Comedy, F/F, Fantasy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:28:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 32,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22012582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LooLooxix/pseuds/LooLooxix
Summary: [CHAPTER 8 DELAYED until further notice]Earth. Fire. Water. Air.In a world where the elements can be bent to your will, a group of girls will go on an journey to discover themselves and the world around them through love and sacrifice.EUaM is a crossover between LOONA and the world of Avatar. Set in an alternate timeline from the Last Airbender and Korra, this story is told from seven perspectives and intertwines the lives of all the girls:Heejin the Avatar, The Fire Triplets,  Jungeun the firebender, Haseul, Jiwoo, and Chaewon the airbenders, Sooyoung and Jinsoul the waterbenders, Yeojin the earthbender, and Vivi the lone non-bender. There will also be appearances by members from other girl groups, such as Red Velvet, Twice, and more!
Relationships: Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul, Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Kim Jiwoo | Chuu, Jeon Heejin/Kim Hyunjin, Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul/Kim Jungeun | Kim Lip, Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul/Viian Wong | Vivi, Park Chaewon | Go Won/Son Hyejoo | Olivia Hye
Comments: 19
Kudos: 179





	1. A Flame Awakened (Hyejoo)

The sweet scent of blossoming flowers filled her with happiness.

Hyejoo held tight onto her mother's hand as they walked through a familiar field. The skies were a bright blue and the wind rustling against the tree leaves soothed her.

"Where are we going mother?" Hyejoo looked up, her mother's face a shadow. The bright sun formed a crown above her soft hair.

"There's something I need to show you, Hyejoo. I need you to promise me you won't tell anyone about this. Not even your sisters." 

Hyejoo nodded and the two made their way under the shade of a tree. Mother pulled out a small shovel and dug next to the tree. Eventually, a peculiar sound came from the hole, and Mother stopped digging.

Just as she was about to pull the object up, Hyejoo felt an uncomfortable warmth overtake her, the skies turned red and she began to sweat.

"Mother?" 

She was gone. Hyejoo panted, looking around at the burned flowers as the shade disappeared.

____________________

Hyejoo woke up with a flame in her sights. A flame in the hand of her sister, Hyunjin.

Hyunjin put out the flame and shook Hyejoo with a smile full of bread. "Wake up sleepy! It's time for school!"

She was not amused. "Did you really have to do that to wake me up?"

"Well I tried shaking you and I didn't want to scream in your ears. You're a very heavy sleeper, you know?"

"Hyunjin!" The voice of her sister Yerim yelled from another room, getting closer. "Did you wake her- oh, yay! C'mon Hyejoo, I don't want you to be late again."

____________________

Hyejoo walked through the courtyard of her school, eyes on her red school uniform, still thinking about what her mother told her.

"See you at home!" She heard the voice of Hyunjin trail off as she no doubt went off with Heejin. Then, she felt Yerim grab her hand.

"You have something on your mind." An odd look of worry colored Yerim's usually cheerful face. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I don't have anything on my mind." Hyejoo pulled her hand free and looked away.

"Hey Yerim!" A voice called from some place.

"I gotta go." Yerim put a hand on Hyejoo's shoulder. "Hey..."

Hyejoo glanced up at her.

"You have a beautiful smile." Yerim showed her own smile, only getting a grin from Hyejoo. "See you after school."

Hyejoo gave a small nod and listened to her sister's footsteps fade away like her mother. Then, softer footsteps approached her.

"Hey," the even softer voice said.

She felt the fragile arms of Chaewon give her a quick hug as she finally looked up, her friend's smile comforting her. 

"What is it?" Chaewon asked.

Hyejoo knew she couldn't hide anything from her, even if she wanted to. "Nothing, it's just... a dream I had about my mother. Hyunjin woke me up by lighting a fire next to my face."

"What? Is she serious? You could've-"

"It's fine Chae, I just got really warm. I almost overslept."

"Still, she should be more careful. I don't like how reckless she is with her bending. She's gonna get herself or someone else hurt."

The two walked up a short flight of steps and into the school hallway.

____________________

"Good news girls. I bought you both some gifts for how well you did in your firebending exams."

"Both?"

Hyejoo glanced over at Yerim who looked like she wanted to say something to Father. Hyunjin also looked to Hyejoo, somewhat confused and worried.

The timid flame in Hyejoo's soul burned hotter, she ground her teeth together and inhaled a stuttered breath. "Father, what about me?"

Father was not much taller than Hyejoo. He had a thick beard that was almost as wide as his shoulders. He looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. "What about you? You didn't pass your exams."

"No, but... I improved. I worked very hard and I almost-"

"Almost isn't going to cut it, Hyejoo. You need to learn the valuable lesson of achievement. Just because you work hard doesn't mean you succeeded. Hard work is meaningless without results. You will get your gift as well, once you show results. You aren't as talented as your sisters, so that means you will have to work even harder. Do you understand?"

"Yes Father." Hyejoo put her head back down and kicked her foot at nothing in particular.

"And that too."

She snapped her head back up as Father's deep voice spoke again.

"You shouldn't be so shy all the time. You should be more like your sisters. Look at how they are, always head up and cheerful. People respect you more when you act that way." 

"Yes Father." Hyejoo clenched her fists nehind her back, digging her nails onto her palms.

"Good. That was all. I'll be getting home late tonight, I expect your homework to be finished when I get back."

____________________

"He does care about you..." Yerim had her arms wrapped around Hyejoo, brushing her hair with her hand and speaking softly. "It's just the way he was raised. You shouldn't take it too hard."

"That's easy for you guys to say. You've always been his favorites. He has something against me and I don't know why."

Hyejoo felt Hyunjin's hand on top of hers as she breathed in deeply, trying to hold back tears so they wouldn't ruin the homework her sisters had helped her with. Yerim didn't say anything for a while, continuing to brush Hyejoo's hair.

Finally, Yerim simply said. "It's going to be alright."

____________________

Hyejoo and Chaewon sat alone under a tree during lunch the next day. Hyejoo had barely touched her food.

"Please eat," Chaewon said, "I don't like seeing you like this."

Hyejoo plucked a blade of grass from the ground, seeing herself in it, and let out a sarcastic grin. "Father said I should lose some weight. He says if I was slimmer it would make me faster and more agile. Funny he doesn't tell Hyunjin that."

"Don't listen to him. You eat and you eat as much as you want."

"I'm not hungry."

Chaewon opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by a voice coming from the courtyard. "Chaewon and Hyejoo sitting in a tree!"

Hyejoo looked over at a group of girls giggling to themselves and rolled her eyes.

"Don't listen to them either. Yagi is just jealous because I don't hang out with her anymore."

"Hey Chaewon!" Yagi's voice called again. "You learn any good airbending tricks lately?"

That was it. She wouldn't allow that rumor to breathe any longer. Hyejoo immediately stood up and glared at the girls. "Will you leave her alone? How many times is that lie going to come out of your fat mouth?"

"I don't know..." Yagi grinned. "How many times is your mouth going to touch hers?"

Now even more students joing in the giggles. Hyejoo noticed Chaewon's face turn red as she shook her head and looked away.

Hyejoo's eyes widened as she made a fist with her trembling hand. She felt as though her nails grew ten times as long and she desperately wanted to see how Yagi's scrawny face would look after she pulled them off of it.

She felt Chaewon grab her arm but it didn't have the same effect as usual. She shook free and walked towards the girls with a purpose, steps shaking the ground with of the all the years of built up anger.

"Hyejoo!" She heard Yerim's voice call from a classroom but she didn't want to look.

Hyejoo's voice stood a top pillars of marble. "I'm going to give you three seconds to apologize for spreading lies about her."

"You mean spreading the truth?" Yagi laughed. "What are you gonna do? Burn me with your little sparkbending?"

The girls around her laughed.

Hyejoo shook with rage, not even bothering to control her breathing or the tone of her voice. "Are you going to apologize?"

"Are you going to apologize for daring to call yourself a firebender? You wouldn't even be fit to light a candle."

More laughs.

Yagi shook her head. "The worst firebender in the nation. Your mother would be disappointed."

Everything inside Hyejoo burst into flames. Rage controlled her every move and she unleashed a wave of fire. Screams pierced the bright blue skies and Hyejoo looked down at her hand, suddenly realizing what she had done.

Most of the girls were holding their faces in pain, except Yagi who was on the ground screaming. "Are you crazy?!"

Everyone around her was in shock. In the distance, Yerim was running over with her hands on her mouth, her face in complete disbelief.

Hyejoo looked back at Chaewon, whose tears dropped onto the whistling blades of grass.

____________________

A/N: Thanks for reading! Next chapter will follow Ms. Sooyoung so stay tuned! I post updates and story polls on my Twitter as well, feel free to follow me! [https://twitter.com/LLooxix/](url)


	2. The Chief and the Airbender (Sooyoung)

The waters crashed against the ship of Sooyoung, chief of the Northern Water Tribe, as it made its way towards the Eastern Air Temple.

She wore the familiar colors of the Water Tribe, thin blue garments with white trim, as the sun continued to berate them. Her unkempt hair flowed down past her thin shoulders and a couple of long, thin braids hung on each side of her face, stretching past her jawline.

As they drew closer to the temple, Sooyoung went around the ship, thanking her crew and making sure everyone was alright. They had spent months traveling the world. 

As much as her advisers tried to dissuade her, Sooyoung insisted on personally introducing herself to the leaders of the three nations. 

Their first stop was a pleasant one. The royal family of the Fire Nation was very welcoming, even if they were surprised that she was not much older than their daughter, Princess Jungeun. Sooyoung got along with her very well in particular, and the Fire Nation's messenger hawks made it easy for them to communicate. Sooyoung had written her a letter from the South Pole not too long ago and it would probably be a week before she heard back.

She knew a lot of the friendliness was a formality, but she couldn't help but feel a genuine friendship forming between them.

After visiting the royal family, she had gone to see Avatar Heejin who, for whatever reason, had still not begun to travel the world and train. Her parents were incredibly protective, and said that with the world in relative peace, there was no need to rush her into anything. The girl was very talented, particularly in her native element, and Sooyoung had spent some time training with her.

Even with all of the things on her plate, Sooyoung had still offered to be her waterbending teacher, but her parents declined because Heejin already had one. He was an old man born in the Fire Nation named Ukaji and he was good, but it wasn't long after meeting him that Sooyoung beat him in a duel. Still, he earned a little of her respect.

The most peculiar thing about Heejin had to have been her interest in airbending. Since she had no teacher, Heejin had been teaching herself. That at least showed Sooyoung that she might've been getting restless. Hopefully that restlessness would lead her to fulfill her duty soon enough. Sooyoung also offered to keep in touch with her, but her parents respectfully declined because of Sooyoung's "history" and not wanting Heejin to have any kind of bad influences around her.

After that, they had paid a visit to the western and southern air temples before heading to the Southern Water Tribe where Sooyoung appointed a new council to rule in her place.

Now they were on the shores of the Eastern Air Temple. Maybe it was because she had just come from the South Pole, but this temple had to be Sooyoung's favorite stop. The sun shone beautifully off of the white walls that stretched high above the three mountains they stood upon. Bridges connected each of the three sections to one another. Numerous airbenders were flying around on their gliders and flying bison. The beauty of the sight almost brought a tear to her eye.

This particular temple was all female, which was still odd to Sooyoung. The Air Nomads were segregated into male and female temples. The eastern and western temples housed females, and the north and south housed males. She had enjoyed the hospitality of the western air temple the most in her travels.

There was a small group of four nuns waiting on the shore to greet them with four sky bison with them. They all wore orange and yellow clothing and had blue arrow tattoos on their foreheads and tops of their hands, signifying that they were airbending masters. Three of them were elderly but one looked as though she was Sooyoung's age. She had never seen someone this young with the tattoos.

Each of them introduced themselves with a bow.

"Welcome master Sooyoung," one of the elders said, "My name is Tashi, it's an honor to meet you."

"I am Kala."

"I am Soo."

Finally, the young girl introduced herself. "I am Haseul, it's very nice to meet all of you. You must be very tired. Please, let us show you to your rooms. I think all of you will fit snuggly on our sky bison."

Sooyoung thanked them as she and her crew mounted the sky bison and soared into the air. She wasn't a complete stranger to this feeling, but that didn't stop that wide smile from forming on her face. If only she could have her own pet sky bison...

Sooyoung rode with Haseul and her sky bison, which she had named Hadong. Along the way, a couple of questions popped into her head. How did she become a master so young? How powerful was she? Her hair was pretty short, so she she might've received the tattoos recently. 

Sooyoung pushed those questions aside. At that moment, she just wanted to unwind and enjoy the ride.

\--------------------

Sooyoung had wanted to meet with the elders immediately after arriving, but they insisted that she get her rest first. So, not wanting be rude like she had sometimes been at the other temples, Sooyoung and her crew and spent the whole morning sleeping in their guest rooms.

\--------------------

Wiping the drool from her mouth, Sooyoung got out of bed and stepped into the hallway where Haseul was sitting down, meditating.

Sooyoung raised an eyebrow and leaned down, snapping her fingers next to Haseul's face. She didn't move.

"Hey, you awake?" Sooyoung put a hand over Haseul's shoulder, hesitating for a moment, and lightly shook the girl until she opened her eyes.

Haseul smiled up at her and rose to her feet. "Oh, you're awake."

"Yeah... you too."

"Oh yeah, sorry about that. It's just that I take any opportunity I can to meditate and sometimes I get so lost that I..." Haseul held her mouth open for a bit as if there was something on the tip of her tongue, then closed it and smiled. "Well I guess I shouldn't ramble. C'mon, they're waiting for you."

Sooyoung couldn't shake the feeling that there was something special about this girl. There was a powerful, mysterious aura she could feel. The two of them walked through the halls and made their way into a large room where the same three nuns were sitting. Sooyoung half-expected there to be a chair waiting for her before remembering where she was. There was a pillow set on the ground next to a small table with tea.

Haseul stood next to the nuns as Sooyoung took her seat.

"So what is it you wanted to discuss, master Sooyoung?" Kala asked.

Sooyoung took a sip of the hot tea and forced herself to swallow it despite it burning her tongue and her throat. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat, acting as if nothing happened. It has to do with the Avatar."

"The Fire Nation girl." Kala said.

"Yes... I visited her not too long ago and I'm worried that she's waiting too long to find an airbending teacher."

"And so are we."

"Well... I've already been to the Southern Air Temple and they refused to send any of their masters to train her."

"As they should." Tashi's voice was a bit harsher. "It is the Avatar's responsibility to seek an airbending master. We will also gladly wait for her here until she decides she is ready. The attitude towards airbenders in the Fire Nation is too hostile for us to to travel there, Avatar or no."

"Attacking an airbender without provocation is a crime in the Fire Nation."

"Just like how it was when Avatar Taeyeon was murdered?" Soo added.

"I think this a valuable lesson for you too, master Sooyoung," Tashi said. "A few words on a piece of paper can't erase centuries of discrimination."

Haseul joined the conversation. "There are still airbenders there who are afraid of being who they are. But they stay there because the Fire Nation is prospering. As long as they blend in with everyone else and keep quiet, they live pretty calm and peaceful lives. Not everyone wants to throw that away to be an Air Nomad."

Sooyoung guided the conversation back to where it started. "Still, I don't think anyone would dare to mess with any of the Avatar's teachers. Heejin is talented and she loves airbending."

"But not enough to come to us," Tashi said. "That's not love, that's curiosity. Like a child... playing with a shiny toy. The fact that she is this old and hasn't seriously begun her training tells me she is also a spoiled and lazy child. It's a shame, but the world is at peace and has been for decades. The last Avatar was an imbecile who thought rain clouds were tearbenders. We survived him, we can easily wait for the next reincarnation."

Sooyoung didn't know how to respond to that. The words were harsh. "With all all due respect master Tashi, I think the years of peace have made you and everyone else complacent. I think its important to do what we can to help the Avatar before something terrible happens and its too late. If not, then it will be in our hands to keep the peace."

After Sooyoung failed to sway them in her direction, they dropped the conversation and instead talked about her travels and the Air Nomad traditions. It turns out there wasn't really any specific reason why the temples were segregated, it was just an ancient custom. In contrast to that, the Air Nomads were a very open and accepting people. They were free to be in relationships with whomever they wanted, boy or girl, and there was no such thing as "coming out" about your sexuality. Oh, how Sooyoung wished the rest of the world shared this belief.

When they were done speaking, Sooyoung thanked them before bowing and walking out of the room.

After walking through the halls for a little while, she heard something behind her... the sound of faint footsteps. Sooyoung spun around, but she couldn't see anyone. There was a pillar not too far down the hall... someone was there behind it. But who could it be? It couldn't be any of the elders or the girls, they had told Sooyoung that they were meditating so everyone was in their rooms... One of her crew members? No. She didn't have a good feeling about this.

Sooyoung spotted a recently watered plant in a large vase next to her and lifted some water out of it. Then she gently lowered it and spread it across the floor, making it hard to notice before taking off down the hall and turning a corner. She stopped with her back to the wall, listening... then, she heard it. The sound of the sucker slipping and falling.

Sooyoung came out from behind the corner and only managed to see the back of the person as they ran off. It was a girl with brown hair... an airbender?

\--------------------

After getting back to her room, Sooyoung did some stretching to keep herself limber. She didn't like spending too much time lying around, even if she was tired from all the travel. Just as she got done, she heard wet footsteps approach the doorway and stop. It was her again. She waited for a few seconds to see if the girl would say anything.

"Are you going to come in or just stand there?"

Then, from behind the wall, the girl finally showed her face. She was holding a bowl in one hand and a cup in the other. Sooyoung was taken aback by how much beautiful innocence her eyes seemed to hold. She was shorter than Sooyoung and had dark brown hair with bangs.

"Hi." Her voice was just as innocent as her eyes. "Um... I wanted to apologize for sneaking up on you earlier."

"No one sneaks up on me. Especially not you." Sooyoung hid a smile.

"Uhhh..."

She was clearly uncomfortable but Sooyoung didn't have the heart to keep the charade up for long. "I'm kidding. Here, sit down."

The girl let out an audible sigh as her lips curved into a tiny smile. She sat down and offered the bowl to Sooyoung. Inside of it were some dumplings and rice. "I thought you might be hungry," the girl said.

"Well you thought right. Thank you." Sooyoung smiled and took the bowl, immediately taking a dumpling with the chopsticks and opening her mouth.

"Wait!"

Sooyoung froze in place and stared at the girl. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I just forgot to tell you. Those aren't dumplings."

Sooyoung raised an eyebrow at her and took a good look at what she was holding between the chopsticks. "They're not?"

"No... they're 'I'm sorry' dumplings!" The girl waved her hands back and forth with a big smile. "Take a bite and see what happens."

Sooyoung blinked twice at her, too hungry to find any words to say. She put the dumpling in her mouth and chewed.

"I'm very..."

After one bite, Sooyoung stopped again. "You're very what?"

The girl made a motion for her to keep eating, her smile even wider. As Sooyoung did, the girl kept repeating the word over and over with each bite. "Very, very, very, very, very..." Then, when Sooyoung swallowed, the girl said, "sorry."

Sooyoung could only let out a chuckle as she looked down at the bowl. "So is this, 'please forgive me' rice?"

The girl giggled. "No, that's just rice."

"Hm." Sooyoung had to admit that she was interesting. Not just with her little dumplings, but for happened earlier. Why wasn't she meditating? Why did she follow her? Sooyoung thought about those questions as she continued to eat. The girl just sat there like a proud parent watching their baby finish their meal. When she was done, the girl immediately took the bowl and set it off to the side before handing her a cup of apple juice, the same smile still on her face.

After drinking the apple juice, she took the cup from her as well and stood up, walking towards the door. "Well, I guess I should let you rest. It was nice meeting you."

"Wait a minute."

She turned around as if she expected her name to be called. "Yes?"

"Come back here and sit down. I want to ask you something."

"Oh, sure. Okay— ahh!" The bowl slipped out of her fingers but she caught it before it could hit the floor. The girl made her way back over and sat down on the same spot. "Yes? What did you want to ask me?"

"What's your name?"

"Uh, my name?"

Sooyoung nodded.

"My name's Jiwoo! But everyone calls me Chuu."

"Why does everyone call you that?"

"I... don't know why. People have just been calling me that for as long as I can remember, but I think it really fits me..." She threw her hands up in the air with her big smile. "Chuu!"

Sooyoung couldn't help but laugh. It really was refreshing to see someone so bright. 

"Okay Chuu... where are you from?"

"I'm from... here?"

"You were born here in a temple full of girls?"

Chuu giggled. "Well I don't know, I don't remember how I got here but it's where I've been my whole life. The nuns raised me here so they're like my parents... but my life's not that interesting I guess. I get really bored easily."

"Is that why you were spying on me?"

"Hey, I already apologized for that remember?" Chuu pointed directly at her. "You ate the dumplings!"

"I'm just a little curious," Sooyoung said, "Why didn't you just walk up to me and introduce yourself?"

"I guess I just wasn't... sure."

"Sure about what?"

"What they say about you. When everyone found out you were coming here, they started telling me all of these amazing things about you. How you were the first woman to be chief of the Water Tribes and how powerful you were. Whenever we have visitors I'm always one of the first people to greet them when they arrive, but when I first saw you I... you weren't at all what I was expecting and I wasn't sure about how I would even start talking to you so I got scared."

Sooyoung nodded, satisfied with the answer.

"So is it true?" Chuu asked. "All those things they say?"

Sooyoung smiled and took a deep breath. "Are you sure you wanna know?

Chuu hesitated a bit, then nodded with her eyes wide in excitement.

"Well I guess I should tell you a little about myself so you can understand." Sooyoung tapped her chin, thinking back through her short but eventful life. "I grew up in the north pole with two sisters and two brothers. I was the middle child so... I kinda got lost in the shuffle. My two sisters did better in school than I did and I wasn't allowed to use my waterbending for anything other than healing for a while. But then I met a girl who became my best friend. She introduced me to a group of female waterbenders who secretly trained in all forms of waterbending. Not just for self defense, but to express ourselves."

Sooyoung smiled down at the floor, the memories from her youth appearing in front of her. "Eventually, I discovered that I was good at it... really good. Me and my friend... well we drifted apart and um..." Sooyoung caught herself before she was overwhelmed with regret. "So anyway, when I turned sixteen the chief said his son wanted to marry me."

"Then what happened?" Chuu was now lying on her belly and looking up at Sooyoung while kicking her feet, completely engaged in the story.

"Well I told them that I would marry him under one condition... that they let me practice waterbending freely. I'm not gonna lie, I kind of expected them to just ask one of my other sisters after that, but they agreed. They even brought a waterbending master to train me... so I couldn't exactly say no."

Chuu gasped with her big smile. "I bet the wedding was just amazing."

"Well it was... something. I liked everything the marriage gave me and my family. It let me see all of the mistakes the former chief was making and it let me help people. Now that I was the wife of the heir, I had a little influence in how the Tribes were run. Then, a couple of years later, the chief died of an illness and my husband became chief. My husband was an only child and we obviously never had any children, so when he passed away as well..."

"Ooohhh..."

"Yeah. But that didn't stop the other powerful families from claiming their right to power. They said it was outrageous that a woman could lead them and demanded that I step down. So you know what I said to them?"

"What did you say?"

"I said..."

\--------------------

"If you want me to step down, why don't you make me? I'll gladly take on any one of you in a duel. I will hand over my power to anyone lucky enough to get the best of me."

The families sitting in the palace burst out into laughter. One man offered his son as a challenger, then another one did, and so on. Sooyoung made arrangements with all of the challengers on a first come, first served basis and held the competitions outside of the palace. To the amazement of everyone in attendance, Sooyoung took care of every challenger with ease.

While the sons of the aristocratic families trained once in while for some mysterious battle that never came, Sooyoung had been busy practicing every single day. She didn't take her waterbending for granted, she loved the art... And that, coupled with her natural-born talent, made all of the difference. These weren't some seasoned masters she was facing, they were mostly boys. One was even twelve.

Still, the events of this day made their rounds and Sooyoung gained a lot more respect. As if learning their lesson not to underestimate her, the families then returned to her and challenged her again, this time with their best. Sooyoung could've easily declined, saying that the families already had their chance, but the fighting spirit inside of her wouldn't allow it. 

This time, she held a tournament over multiple days to decide who would be her challenger. Sooyoung had a stadium built for the occasion. Before the tournament, Sooyoung declared that the aristocratic families would get limited space and the price for entering would be triple what it was originally. Most of the stadium seating would go to the poor, who wouldn't have to pay anything to enter. The families were outraged... but they still filled up all of their seats. The man that came out on top was named Kurulok, the first man that had offered his son as a challenger. Their fight took place at sunset.

Sooyoung was confident that she would defeat Kurulok and she wanted the people to see it. The real people that made up the Water Tribes. Once they did, they would spread that story to everyone they knew. The story of how Sooyoung earned her place and how generous she was to them in her triumph. It was by far her toughest fight, but by the time the sun had set, Kurulok was lying flat on his back and Sooyoung was standing above him. The stadium full of the people she had let in cheered. There was nothing more the families could really do, they had been given an opportunity and squandered it.

Then, with the crowd still cheering, Sooyoung announced that all of the money from the tournament would be divided evenly to the poor in attendance. Sooyoung was chief and would remain so until the end of her days.

\-------------------- 

"Wow..." Chuu couldn't stop shaking her head in disbelief. "That sounds amazing, you're so brave to stand up to them like that... And I'm so sorry about your husband, even if you didn't love him, it must've been tough losing him at such a young age."

Sooyoung blanked out again, staring at the floor and thinking about nothing in particular. She listened to the calm wind outside their window, feeling a little lighter now that she had told her story to this girl. "What you said earlier... about not being what you expected."

"Hm?"

"What did you mean by that?"

"Oh, I don't know. I guess I expected someone bigger, and not as... pretty?" Chuu laughed. "The usual visitors we get are other Air Nomads and I've seen other waterbenders but never anyone who looks like you. Your hair and everything about you is so different from everyone else. You look like someone who I'd never forget."

Sooyoung almost made a snarky remark like, "I wouldn't want to forget me either," but the look on Chuu's face held her back. Her eyes were innocence and admiration and her smile was comfort. When was the last time anyone had been this sincere with her? Could she even remember? Those words sparked something in Sooyoung and she thought back to her childhood with her best friend. All of the days they had spent together... laughing, crying, dreaming... they meant everything to her. Did she remember Sooyoung? And if she did, did she even care about her anymore? Why did the cruel world have to take the innocence from her? Where was she now? Where was Jinsoul?

"Oh no don't cry..." Chuu put her hand on Sooyoung's but she pulled back and covered her face. She shook her head. Why could she never get rid of that guilt? It had been digging away at her since that one fateful day. Whenever it got a hold of her, she couldn't seem to stop the emotions from spilling out.

"What's wrong? I can leave if you want me to."

"No, it's fine. I'm just being a stupid tearbender," Sooyoung chuckled to herself and violently wiped the couple of tears that managed to spill out from her face. "Stay. I enjoy your company."

Chuu sat down next to her on the bed. "It's not stupid to cry. I cry sometimes too. I..." Chuu shut her eyes as if she was going to regret was she was about to say. "I have trouble meditating a lot of the time. I don't know why, but it's just so hard for me. I'm trying really hard to become the best airbender I can be but sometimes it gets so frustrating that I think about running away. Life here is nice and quiet, but whenever I hear stories like yours I feel like going out and seeing the world would be so good for me. I've just never had the courage to actually do it."

Sooyoung already knew what the next question was before Chuu actually said it.

"Would it... would it be okay if I go with you?"

\--------------------

The following day, before Sooyoung departed, Haseul had come to her and asked if she could show them her waterbending. Haseul said she was always curious about what a true waterbending master could do. There was a lot on Sooyoung's mind, never mind what Chuu had asked her the day before. So, with a crowd gathered behind her, she took the opportunity to do the thing she loved the most down at the shore.

Sooyoung listened to the sound of the tide moving in and out, closing her eyes and breathing deeply before stepping into the water. She didn't stop until she was completely submerged. Then, she took a long moment to simply stay still, listening to the muffled voices coming from above. Why couldn't she walk through life underwater? The feeling that it gave her... so serene. After that blissful moment, she swung her eyes open and soared above the surface in a water spout, a towering tornado that spun with the force of all her frustrations.

Keeping the spout spinning, she then lifted more water from the ocean, guiding it this way and that. She didn't know if this would entertain her audience and she didn't care. Sooyoung wasn't Sooyoung at that moment, she was whatever the water wanted her to be. Looking over to the shore, she noticed someone flying in her direction on a glider. Without even taking the time to see who it was, she formed the water into a ring and watched as Chuu flew through it... the infectious sound of her laughter circling around her and soaring up into the air.

Sooyoung grinned and spun the tornado even faster, rising higher and higher into the air. She felt her control slipping a bit, but she was too focused on following that little ball of sunshine to worry about it.

Chuu glided back down to her level and circled around again. "Did you think about what I said?!"

Sooyoung stopped her ascent and looked out to the horizon. She saw her ambitions and contemplated the unknown. If she didn't take her, she had no idea if she would ever see her ever again. Looking back at Chuu and staring into her hopeful eyes circling around her, Sooyoung almost dared to grant her wish. But there was no way she could ever put someone like her in the types of dangers she would probably face. After what happened to Jinsoul, she just didn't have the heart. She had thought about simply taking her and leaving her in a nice town somewhere, but that would be even more foolish. Chuu had never been anywhere else, she couldn't survive on her own.

"I can't take you!" Saying those words hurt much more than she ever imagined they would. "I'm sorry!"

Chuu didn't stop circling around her, but she had turned her face away. Eventually, she stopped her circling and glided back towards the shore. Sooyoung managed to catch a glimpse of her sobbing as she did. The grimy nails of guilt dug into her soul again and she lost control of the tornado.

Sooyoung didn't scream, she didn't panic. She waited until she was was close enough to the surface of the water and spun another spout that wrapped around her and softly guided her into the water.

\--------------------

It had been hours since they had left the temple. The sun had set long ago and Sooyoung couldn't stop thinking about what she had done as she stared down at the dark ocean. Chuu wanted to leave. It was probably the first time she had ever had the courage to tell anyone about that desire... And she let shadows from the past form her judgment of someone who had nothing to do with it? No... she did the right thing, she did. Chuu would grow up safe and taken care of by people with good hearts, free of conflict and worry. Even if she someday did run away somehow, Sooyoung couldn't be the one responsible if something happened to her.

Before leaving, Sooyoung told Haseul to give Chuu a message for her. "Tell her that she'll understand someday."

"Chief Sooyoung!" One of her crew members, a middle-aged man named Kamaru, called her over to his side of the ship.

She ran over quickly and looked up into the sky along with everyone else. There was some type of object flying towards them from the direction of the temple. A silhouette surrounded by the moon. It didn't take long for Sooyoung to realize what it was. "Oh no..."

"Sooyoung! It's me!" The familiar voice of Chuu yelled as she soared through the air, waving at them on her pet sky bison. It took a little while, but she eventually caught up to them and landed on the ship.

Sooyoung's mouth hung open and her arms were frozen in front of her in disbelief. 

"Hi everyone! I'm Chuu and this is—" Chuu tripped over herself as she was dismounting off her bison and she fell flat on her back, her staff smacking her in the face. "Ow."

Sooyoung immediately rushed over to pick her up and held her by the shoulders. She spoke in a low voice that signaled she was about to erupt. "Chuu... What. Are. You. Doing. Here?"

Chuu looked at her as if it was the dumbest question she had ever heard. "Coming with you of course."

"What? No! How..." Sooyoung took a deep breath. "Why did you even bother asking me anything if you were just gonna leave anyway?"

Chuu tilted her head up as if in deep thought, before simply shrugging her shoulders and muffling an, "I don't know."

"This is a mistake. This is a mistake and you need to fly back right now."

"Listen, Sooyoung. If you don't want me on your ship that's fine, I don't want to be a nuisance to you. I know you have much more important things to worry about... But I'm not going back. After hearing what you told me, I realized I would be doing nothing but wasting my life there." Chuu smiled earnestly. "I want to be like you. I want to see what kinds of amazing things are out here waiting for me. I'm completely capable of taking care of myself. I'm ready for anything."

Just then, her sky bison's stomach rumbled, causing Chuu to jump away in fear.

Sooyoung was now a mute. She put her hands on her head, shaking it back and forth, wondering just what she was going to do with this girl and her big fluffy animal.

"By the way," Chuu said, "where exactly are you guys going?"

"Ba Sing Se," Kamaru said.

\--------------------

A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter (sorry if there's any spelling mistakes or anything like that). Also, don't worry Haseul stans, this is far from the last time we will hear of her. Stay tuned for chapter 3 where things get REALLY interesting as we are introduced to Vivi and Jinsoul! Just what could those two be up to?

I post updates and story polls on my Twitter as well, feel free to follow me!

[https://twitter.com/LLooxix/](url)


	3. Warm Water, Cold Candle (Vivi)

The little girl stood firm in her stance, dressed in the Earth Kingdom colors of green and yellow with a blindfold over her eyes. There were other kids next to her, mirroring the same pose, and an elderly woman watching over them with a scowl on her face. They were in an open rocky area with stone walls in front of them.

All of the students lifted up boulders and launched them forward into the wall. This continued for a while before the students switched to other exercises.

After they were done, they made their way back to a dojo set on a small hill. The girl's mother would always be there for her, waiting with a smile on her face as the girl recounted her day to her with great delight.

On this day, however, her delight was interrupted by her teacher. The master bowed to the girl's mother. "Your highness. There's something I want to speak to about, if you have a moment."

"Oh, of course." She looked a little worried, the seemingly permanent look on the master's face probably wasn't helping.

The master led them inside of the dojo and slid the doors shut, a dry leaf managing to float onto the floor as the sound of the kids laughing became distant.

"So what's this about?" The mother said.  
The master turned to them. "I wanted to talk to you about your daughter. She's showing immense potential."

"Immense?" The mother's eyes lit up. "What exactly do you mean?"

"I mean that she's highly skilled for her age. It's almost frightening how polished she's become. So much so, that I am offering to move her up to the next class immediately, if you think it would be right for her."

The girl couldn't contain her smile, even though she knew she would have to move to a different class, away from her friends. She looked up at her mother, who was a little less enthusiastic. 

"I'm very happy to hear that, truly... but I wouldn't want to rush her too much if she doesn't feel comfortable. Plus all of her friends are in this class. Maybe she'd prefer staying here a little while longer." She looked down at her daughter. "What do you think Kahei?"

"I think..." Many thoughts went through the Kahei's mind; her desires of wanting to be like her older siblings, how great their earthbending was, and how much she'd miss being around her friends there. With bright eyes and a smile, she said, "I'll do it!"

\--------------------

Kahei opened her eyes, trying to hold onto the distant laughs of her friends. They sunk slowly into the sound of waves... the boat swayed like the wet hands on her back. Back and forth, a soothing, warm sensation that eased her pain.

"Are you awake?" The hands asked.

"Mhm." Kahei's brown hair was draped over her sleepy eyes like silk curtains covering sunsets. She blinked and flexed the hand that was hanging off the edge of the bed.

"Is it still hurting?" The hands asked.

"I should be fine."

As she said that, the hands lifted away from her back. Kahei went to grab her blue shirt lying on the ground, but one of the hands snatched it first.

"Sit up, I'll put it on for you."

Kahei sighed with slight annoyance, trying to remind herself that she was just concerned. She sat up as the hands gently put each of Kahei's arms into the shirt. They circled around, revealing the long arms they led to, the shoulders, and the raven black hair on the top of her scalp.

The girl tied Kahei's shirt firmly before looking up at her. Her eyes were oceans of soft blue and her jaw was made of marble.

Her name was Jinsoul. 

"So you're fine?" She asked, "I need you at your best. Otherwise, I'm not letting you out of this room. Not after what happened last time. This is too important." Her caring words were masked with an icy tone. Usually, all anyone saw was that mask. Vivi had learned long ago that if you ever show your true colors to anyone, you better have their trust caressed against your chest.

"Yes. I'm fine. I promise." Kahei took Jinsoul's hands and put them aside as she stood up, stretching every part of her body. The soreness still lingered, especially in her joints, but the worst of it had thankfully passed.

The healing sessions had been going on since Jinsoul found out about the pains. Each one had been longer than the last. They never actually cured her of anything, it just made the pain more tolerable and pass quicker.

Kahei walked over to the mirror and took a good look at herself. The young, exuberant eyes of her youth had calmed and matured. They reflected the dark hair that hung above her eyes like black blades. She stared at herself for a good while... she wasn't Kahei anymore, she was Vivi.

She and Jinsoul were clothed in all blue, the colors of the Water Tribe. That was no accident.

\--------------------

Vivi made her way out to the deck of the ship, the calm wind brushing against her cheeks like the blue sail above them.

Everyone else on the ship was dressed in blue. There were boxes and barrels aboard, above as well as below. To the unsuspecting, this would seem like an ordinary Water Tribe trade ship, selling goods across the sea. Jinsoul, Vivi, and their crew had hijacked this ship in an Earth Kingdom port. They had disguised themselves as Water Tribe merchants and were making their way where this ship was always supposed to go.

On slow times like those, Vivi used to love to draw the landscape in front of her. She would spend hours trying to get everything right about a tree or something as simple as how a cloud curved. It's not like she couldn't try to do it anymore; she still felt the love of drawing in her inner child, but the inspiration wasn't there anymore. There was something missing in her... she wondered how far she would have to travel before she found the happiness she had as a child again. The memory of those days were bright, the soft pink of cherry blossoms. It seemed like dark rain clouds followed her wherever she went now. Just a wandering soul.

As Vivi stared out at the open sea, she heard a couple conversing next to her.

"So then I was like haHA and she was like- Hey! What the-"

Vivi took the man's arm and tied a rope around his wrist before grabbing him by the shirt and chucking him overboard. She handed the rope to the shocked girl he was talking to and picked up some bones with meat still on them off of the floor.

"Who cooked this?" Vivi held up the bones to the girl.

Her voice shook a bit. "M-me? I didn't know we couldn't..."eat any of the food. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." Vivi tossed the bones at the man overboard. "Be better. We are supposed to be selling this food. Not eating. Reel him in."

"Yes Vivi."

"And stop littering, it's disgusting"

"Yes Vivi. Sorry again, Vivi."

Vivi walked away, wondering if she had been too harsh. These people were with them for their own benefit, not out of some deep loyalty for her or Jinsoul. They would double cross her before sticking their necks out for her life. It was harsh, but she couldn't let anyone even think they are above the mission. She knew both of their names and the fact that the girl was a firebender. That didn't stop her from having good reason to fear her.

Every movement had to be made with precision, every word delivered with purpose. She could not take anything that was given to her for granted.

\--------------------

At sunset, as the sky turned a cool orange and the ship got closer to its destination, Vivi saw something on the horizon. She immediately called Jinsoul over and pointed it out to her. It was another ship, and its intrigue grew with every passing second. It wasn't a trade ship of any kind, the ship looked like royalty.

Alone.

"Looks like our lucky day!" One of them said.

"Don't count your loot before it's jingling in your little pockets." Jinsoul put fingers to her jaw, as if in deep contemplation, then turned to Vivi. "What do you think?"

Vivi looked out at the ship as well, blinking a couple of times. Then, she turned to Jinsoul and nodded with confidence.

\--------------------

The sun had set. The plan was simple.

The Water Tribe ship was steered into the direction of the oncoming one. The crew on board the other ship became furious and asked what it was they were doing. That's when the "Water Tribe" merchants showed the goods they were carrying, specifically furs from the south and some Earth Kingdom jewelry, and asked if the royal family would like to buy some.

Unbeknownst to the other ship, Vivi and Jinsoul were listening closely below deck. The crew had originally declined, saying they were in a hurry... but when the queen came outside and said she was interested, they had no choice. A couple of waterbenders made an ice bridge to let them cross and look at what they were offering.

That's when Jinsoul and Vivi were given the go-ahead. Vivi had put on her black mask to go along with the rest of the outfit she now had on. She had an empty bag and a pouch of water on her hip next to a belt with a few small blades and other equipment 

Out of sight on the opposite side from where the commotion was taking place, they dove into the water. Jinsoul formed a bubble around each of their heads and moved the currents to guide them toward the other ship.

They went all the way to the opposite side of THAT ship before stopping. Jinsoul and Vivi looked at each other from their bubbles. She could see Jinsoul trying to measure the distance from Vivi to the nearest window. Then, Jinsoul moved her arms in an upward motion, sending Vivi soaring into the air. Vivi eyed that same window and clutched onto it.

She checked to make sure no one was walking through the hall before pulling herself inside. 

Vivi snuck through the halls of the ship, the candle lights coloring her a dark red. Her footsteps were nonexistent and she listened intently to every little sound coming from the metal that surrounded her. Eventually, Vivi came across a door with a golden glow coming from the circular window. She took a peek inside... there was a girl there... lying in bed in her red pajamas. 

It was the princess. Princess Jungeun.

Vivi stared at her for a while, contemplating her next move. There was no lock on the door...

But instead of going inside, Vivi took some water from her pouch and put out a few candles. She banged loudly on the door before disappearing into the darkness. It was a couple long breaths before she heard noises coming from inside the room. Then, the door opened and she saw her, sleepy eyes and all. She had long brown hair and eyes that said, "I am above you."

"Mom? Did you knock? Why did we stop?!" Princess Jungeun looked around. "And who put out those candles? Where is everyone? Ugh! Mom!"

The Princess didn't even bother to try lighting them. Instead, she did what Vivi expected her to... walk in the opposite direction, toward the sound of all the fuss. Vivi wasted no time in sneaking in her room and looking around. She snatched each and every piece of jewelry and some fancy clothing she found before neatly placing them into her bag. There was no telling how much money was in that room.

As Vivi finished up, she came across something peculiar... it was a letter. A letter that was lying on the bed as if the princess had fallen asleep reading it.

Vivi quickly read the words:

"Dear Jungeun, I'm so glad you decided to write to me. I am in the South Pole at the moment, taking care of some important business. How are you? I remember you saying you had firebending exams coming up. I'm sure you did great, although you are lucky that I am not a firebender.  
You know I would have put you and everyone in your country to shame right?

As for me, I'm working on my first big reform that I'm going to put in place as soon as I return home. I've spent many nights thinking about it, not because I don't know if it's the sensible thing to do, but because of how we will go about doing it. We are going to face a lot of backlash, but I'm prepared.

I hope you are doing well and I can't wait until we see each other again. I really enjoyed our time together. Maybe you and your family could visit us next time? I'm eagerly waiting for your next letter. I hope you enjoy your vacation. Unfortunately, I am not that lucky.

Love, Sooyoung."

Sooyoung? This was a letter from the chief of the Water Tribes... Vivi folded and threw it into the bag as well before making her way back out into the hall. She then found her way into the queen's room and did the same thing.

With a bag full of treasures, Vivi snuck back to the window she came from. She tossed the bag outside, a sign to Jinsoul that it was time. Still underwater, Jinsoul bent a wave up to the window that froze, acting as a slide for Vivi to get down safely...

But just as she was about to slide down, she heard yelling. She heard fire and water, swords clanging... they were caught.

"They're pirates!" She heard a soldier yell.

Vivi looked down at the ice and shook her head in frustration. There was no way she could go down now. They were in a fight without her and Jinsoul, she had to help.

Free of the need to maintain secrecy, Vivi rushed through the hall, climbed up some steps, and found herself in the deck of the Fire Nation ship. There were two separate fights going on on each ship. Fire roared in the night and water calmed it. A battle at sea under the moonlight.

Vivi eyed a vulnerable Fire Nation soldier at the edge of the ship. She rushed over, grabbed him by the arm as he was about to unleash fire, and tossed him overboard. 

His scream alerted a few others, but they were too busy fighting to take action against Vivi. She roundhouse kicked the helmet off another and hit them with a punch square in the nose that left them unconscious.

She looked up just in time to dive away from an oncoming flame. A burn came from her lower leg and she tossed her remaining water on it before it could spread. Low to the ground in a defensive stance, Vivi looked up and saw the princess with fire in her hands, a much different look in her eyes.

"So you're the little runt that put out the candles... I think you forgot your presents!" Princess Jungeun sent another flame towards Vivi. This time she was prepared and jumped on the wall next to her, launching herself up in the air and tossing a couple knives at the princess.

Vivi watched Jungeun clutch her shoulder as one of the blades cut a hole in her pajamas. Seeing an opening, Vivi weaved in and out of the flames from the one-armed princess and prepared to take her down. Then, a couple of guards stepped in front and shot at her with two pillars of fire.

Vivi turned sideways and tried to avoid the flames, but one of them managed to catch her mask. She ripped it off and threw it on the ground before the fire could burn her face. Vivi pushed the hair out of her eyes and for a short moment, she and Jungeun saw each other's faces.

"The Princess is hurt!" One of the guards yelled. "Protect her you idiots!"

Vivi watched as a couple more guards showed up. A couple of waterbenders joined Vivi. There was a stalemate. Neither side wanted to make a move before the other. 

Jungeun pushed her way in front of the guards. "I don't need any protection. I can do it myself."

Then, a current of water took out the guards behind her, sending them into the ocean. Vivi looked over to the side and saw Jinsoul standing with her arms in the air.

"Took you long enough." Vivi relaxed as Jinsoul made her way over to the princess. Jungeun had a flame in her hand, looking reluctant to use it, but Jinsoul knocked her down with another current.

Jungeun didn't appear to be a stereotypical firebending hothead. She knew she was defeated and didn't resist. Jinsoul held Jungeun's hands behind her back restrained them with ice.

Another one of their crew came over, pushing a woman in front of him. "We found the queen." He knocked her onto the floor next to Jungeun, her hands also tied behind her back with rope.

Vivi looked over to the other ship, noticing a few Fire Nation soldiers looking over to their side. That was not good.

"We've taken your ship!" One of them yelled. "Free the queen and the princess this instant or else!"

Jinsoul stepped over to the edge of the ship as Jungeun and Queen Zohyun were dragged over with her. 

"What are you offering?!" Jinsoul replied.

"We don't negotiate with pirates! Unhand them and we will let you go on your way! All we want is for them to remain unharmed! If not, we will render your ship inoperable! Those are the terms... there will be no more!"

"I already sent a messenger hawk to the capital!" Zohyun yelled, "We can wait for a search party to get here! Don't give them anything!"

"Oh, I think I have a little surprise for you..." Jinsoul held up a scroll in her hand, waving it so the soldiers could see it. "I shot down the hawk!" She yelled out. "There's no one coming here!"

So that was why Jinsoul took so long to show up... Vivi had to admit that it was worth it. Now the threat of the Fire Nation sending more ships off their back.. but what were they going to do? It's not like they could just take the ship. If they had noticed that it was a royal ship, anyone else could. They couldn't try to take on the soldiers. Not only would they immediately set fire to their sail, but they might burn all of their other supplies as well. It seemed like they had to take the deal. She told Jinsoul all of this.

"Okay!" Jinsoul yelled. "We accept!"

\--------------------

For the exchange, Jinsoul made an ice bridge connecting both ships again. Then, she made another structure to protect their sails from any dirty tricks. It was an ice arc that acted like a gateway onto the Water Tribe ship, covering the sail. Jinsoul made sure to let them know that she could easily melt the bridge and send them all falling into the ocean if they didn't hold up their end of the deal.

Zohyun and Jungeun were taken to the middle of the bridge as a cold wind passed. Before they were handed over, Jungeun said something with her back to them. "You, the one who was wearing the mask... who are you? I know I've seen you before somewhere."

Vivi didn't say anything to her.

"Well I don't know about her..." One of the soldiers said, "but I think I have a good idea of who the other is. She looks exactly how they've described her... tall, black hair... a face that would make beauty itself blush. That's the infamous Jinsoul."

"If that's true..." Jungeun tilted her head back so Vivi could see her face as she told her this, almost like she wanted her to remember it vividly. "Then this other one must be Princess Kahei, the one who ran away with her."

"I've spoken to her parents before." There was venom in Zohyun's voice. "All they could talk about when you came up was how much of a disappointment you were. All of your siblings are bringing honor to your family and here you are. It's sad what happened to you, princess... an earthbender with all the talent in the world... reduced to this. If you were my child, I would disown— ow!"

Vivi smacked Zohyun on the side of the head, causing the soldiers to spawn some fire in their hands, but they didn't make a move.

Vivi looked away from everyone. "Let's just get this over with." She could hear the anger in Jungeun's breathing as her mother let out a laugh.

"You're lucky my hands are tied, princess," Jungeun said, "Just know... no one lays a finger on my parents and gets away with it."

\--------------------

After the exchange, Vivi and Jinsoul let the Fire Nation ship sail away first, back in the direction of the capital. Afterwards, Jinsoul dove into the water with one of the firebenders and the two of them retrieved the bag she had left in the ocean. Someone had messed up and gotten them caught. Vivi had a good idea of who it was, but they were just too exhausted to find out who it was that night. It would have to wait till the morning. The most important thing was to get as far way from the Fire Nation as possible.

Vivi lay in her bed with Jinsoul sitting next to her. It brought a smile to Vivi's face just imagining the rage on Zohyun's face when she walked into her room. She never liked to show any emotion, but those words had really gotten under her skin. She didn't even care about Jungeun's threat, Vivi was more than confident she could take her if it ever came down to that again one day.

Jinsoul exhaled and laughed. "Well that was fun wasn't it?"

"Yeah... fun." With the adrenaline calming, Vivi's body began to tense up again.

Jinsoul opened up the bag and began to go through it. It wasn't long before she pulled something out of it... the letter. "What's this?"

"Read it." Vivi didn't know what they could use the letter for at the moment, but she figured it was too valuable to just leave it there. It wasn't much to Vivi, but Jinsoul had told her that she was from the Northern Water Tribe a while ago. Maybe she would find it a little more interesting?

Vivi stared up at the roof, listening to Jinsoul lightly whisper the words on the page. Her voice seemed to shake as she got toward the end, which caused Vivi to look over at her. Jinsoul was gripping the letter tight, staring at the bottom of the page.

"What is it?" Vivi opened and closed her hand as the pain began to set in.

That seemed to snap her out of whatever trance she was in. "Nothing." Jinsoul folded the letter up and handed it Vivi while looking down at the bag. Vivi could tell something was up. She didn't have any thoughts on it? Even if it was nothing, she couldn't even tell one of her corny jokes? She unfolded the letter and looked down at the spot where Jinsoul had been staring. It was the words, "Love, Sooyoung."

Vivi had a hunch. "Did you know her?"

"Know who?" Jinsoul was just moving things around the bag now, obviously uninterested in them. But the look in her eyes told a different story, there was something else there.

"Sooyoung."

Jinsoul was still shuffling things around the bag without taking anything out. Suddenly, she stopped and looked at Vivi. "I'm sure your body must be aching after all of that." Her expression changed to a much more jovial one, in an almost creepy way. "I think it's time for another healing session."

"Wait but—" Vivi couldn't even begin her sentence before Jinsoul snatched the letter from her hand.

"Lie on your belly."

"No, wait. Answer my question first." Vivi sat up and stared at her but it was obvious that Jinsoul wasn't going to tell her anything. She had put on the mask again. "I think it's important for me to know if you knew the chief of the Water Tribes, don't you? It could be something we could use... I don't know what for but—"

Vivi stopped dead as Jinsoul pressed her lips against hers. It didn't last a long time, but the effect was probably what Jinsoul wanted. Vivi was left with her mouth open and completely forgetting what it was she was talking about.

Jinsoul brought a bucket of warm water over next to the bed. "Lie on your belly."

Completely dumbfounded, Vivi did as she was told. She felt Jinsoul's hand pull the back of her shirt up and soon, the soothing warmth of the water was calming her body down again. Vivi closed her eyes and relaxed, soon falling back into a deep sleep.

\--------------------

A/N: ... Hm... I wonder what happened to Vivi? Stay tuned for the next installment where we will finally meet our little Yeojin. And thank you for all the support! It gives me the motivation to try to make each chapter better than the last.

I post updates and story polls on my Twitter as well, feel free to follow me!

[https://twitter.com/LLooxix/](url)


	4. The Stonecaster (Yeojin)

A girl named Yeojin lived alone.

As time passed in front of her eyes, her parents one day left her sight. There was a wool of youth draped over her; she didn't understand. She could never understand why. She couldn't peek behind the wool, the creeping fear of the unknown gripping her arms.

It wasn't long before a woman brought Yeojin into her home and raised her as their own. Her name was Sera.

A girl named Yeojin lived by a forest.

She grew used to the serenity, the calm sounds of nature, the way the orange sun pierced through the space between the rustling leaves... setting silently every evening. And every morning, her step mother would walk her to school. It was a small school on the edge of a nearby city called Gaoling...

Yeojin sat outside by herself, munching on her lunch and looking on enviously at the other students dressed in green and gold, laughing and sharing their food with their friends. 

She contemplated how she could approach one of them, looking carefully for to see which one looked the friendliest. It wasn't long before she found her.

"Hello." Yeojin plopped down on the grass next to another girl, who was looking at her with some confusion.

"Um, hi?" She gave Yeojin a half smile. Even sitting down, this other girl appeared much taller than Yeojin. Her black hair was wavy and ran down to her torso. 

"Are you alone?" Yeojin took a bite of her food.

"Oh no, I'm just waiting for my friends umm..." she looked around for a bit, but no one was coming. She turned back to Yeojin. "Are you new here? I haven't seen you before."

"Mhm!" Yeojin's eyes widened as she nodded her puffed up cheeks and chewed. "Mynmyujn."

"What?"

Yeojin laughed and swallowed her food before speaking again. "My name's Yeojin! What's yours?"

"Lena." She bowed politely as Yeojin just stared at her.

"Oh, I like that name! It's so... you."

"But... you don't even know me."

"That's where you're wrong, sister." Yeojin giggled. "I can tell everything about you just by looking at you."

"Really? Like, like a fortune teller or something?"

Yeojin nodded. "I can tell who you're going to be." She stuck out her hands, welcoming Lena to put hers on top.

"You are going to be... my friend!" Yeojin busted out laughing by herself, the two of them still holding hands.

Lena's mouth just hung open at first. Then she smiled. Then she laughed as well.

Lena was now Yeojin's friend. Because Yeojin said so.

After that, Yeojin was allowed to move her seat in class next to Lena's and the two of them spent most of their time in school together.

It was true that Lena had other friends, and Yeojin got to meet them. Miya, Minju, Soso, Seoyoung, Seokyoung, and Seoryoung. Yeojin always got the last three's names mixed up.

No matter how much Yeojin grew to like her newfound friends, it was always Lena who she clinged to. Whenever she would struggle to understand something in class or another kid would pick on her for being short, Lena would be by her side. It was around this time, when she was six, that Yeojin began to earthbend. Lots of kids in her class were benders and most shared her element. Earthbending was the toughest and most rigid of all four. Yeojin struggled.

For the longest time, it felt like she was cursed. She looked on in envy at the water and firebenders.

Yeojin told Sera, "Earthbending is so boring! I wanna burn things like a firebender, I wanna fly like an airbender!"

Sera hugged her little Yeojin. "You are so lucky to be able to bend at all. Look at me... I'm just a simple maid, but you... you have a gift and you should cherish it."

Still, it was hard for Yeojin to get a grip on her element. Some days after school, Lena would go over to Yeojin's house and they would spend hours running around in the forest, practicing their earthebending. Afterwards, Sera would make them something to eat and thank Lena for being so kind to Yeojin. As she grew older, Yeojin started to get a better feel for her bending, but she was still very raw. The kids were put into an earthbending class, but Yeojin couldn't connect with her teacher. So, Lena would absorb every lesson and help Yeojin through it every day.

When Yeojin was ten, she met someone she would never forget.

She and Lena were walking home from school when they heard a scream. A thief ran past them and up the street with a bag draped over his shoulder. Yeojin chased after him.

"Yeojin no!" Lena yelled. "You're gonna get hurt!"

Yeojin ignored her friend's plea and turned a corner where she spotted him. Without thinking, she stomped her feet on the ground firmly and took a chunk of earth from the street, launching it at the thief. The loud sounds of cracking wood and broken vases gave way to commotion. A crowd of people gathered around the scene.

Yeojin ran over the broken wood that once made up part of the wall to the shop and stood over the thief who was writhing in pain. "Ha! You thought you could get away from me did you? Well think ag—"

"Yeojin!" Lena stood next to her, shocked at what she was seeing. "What did you do?!"

"What do you mean? I stopped the thief!" There was nothing but confidence in Yeojin's voice.

A muffled voice came from another pile of wooden boards and a hand pierced through it. Lena and Yeojin immediately helped the person out of the wreckage with others from the crowd.

Yeojin bowed to the pretty girl and helped dust her off. "I'm so sorry for what happened to your shop. I stopped a bad guy who was running away. I can um..." Yeojin looked around at the mess she had made. Flowers and herbs on the floor, water everywhere, shards of vases... it finally clicked. "Sera is going to kill me." 

As it turned out, Sera didn't exactly kill her, but according to Yeojin, she might as well have. As soon as she heard about what happened, she rushed over to the shop and apologized a trillion times on behalf of her daughter. The girl who Yeojin had pulled out of the mess was a twenty year-old named Jieun. She had bobbed hair and a face as soft as a cloud.

Jieun and her parents could easily afford to have the wall rebuilt and they were admired Yeojin for having the courage to stop the thief so they weren't as angry as she expected them to be. Still, Sera insisted on Yeojin staying in the shop after school and helping them with whatever they need until everything was fixed. It was lucky that Jieun didn't get seriously hurt. All she got were some cuts and bruises that healed pretty quickly.

Jieun was a waterbender. More specifically, she was a plantbender, something else that Yeojin found more interesting than earthbending. Jieun's parents were the owners of the shop, but she spent the majority of the time there. Yeojin was upset that she wouldn't get to practice earthbending with Lena after school anymore, but it didn't take long for Jieun to change her attitude.

The first day was the toughest.

Yeojin swept the floor, watered the plants, and helped carry new vases over while the wall and counter were being rebuilt. They could easily have just replaced the wall with earth, but they said it was about the aesthetic of it. Jieun's family used to live in the swamps and it helped remind them of home, plus it also helped them stand out.

Yeojin couldn't believe how sweet Jieun was. She knew all of her customers by name, not just the adults, but their children too. Whenever they asked what happened, Yeojin dipped her head down and pretended not to hear. But instead of blaming Yeojin, Jieun just kept calling it an, "Accident," and assuring them that she would be fine.

Not only did Jieun sell flowers, but herbal remedies as well. People would come in and tell her their symptoms, then Jieun would recommend them something from the shop. Sometimes she didn't even need to ask, she would simply hand them the herbs and tell them to let her know how they were feeling in a day or two. It was getting late in the day when Yeojin finished cleaning. Jieun was sitting down reading a book of some kind when Yeojin went up to her, broom still in hand. "Are you a student?"

Jieun looked up and smiled. "Oh, no. Why do you ask?"

"The book." Yeojin shot her hand out and pointed at the book. "You're reading it."

Jieun giggled and showed Yeojin the cover. "It's called, 'Ancient Tales of the Air Nomads.' It's a collection of little stories you might like. Want me to read it to you?"

"Mmm.. you could... but I'm really tired so I might fall asleep or something."

"Then I'll make sure to read the most exciting ones! What do you say?"

"Hm." Yeojin looked around, trying to find some reason not to take Jieun up on her offer. "Well okay... but I'm blaming you if I fall asleep!"

So, Jieun brought Yeojin a pillow for her to sit on and flipped through the pages of her book, trying to find a good story. "Ah!" She pointed at a spot on the page. "You'll love this one. It's about—"

Yeojin covered her ears and shut her eyes. "Lalalalala! No spoilers, no spoilers, just read it!"

"As you wish my little mischievous friend."

\--------------------

"Did she behave?" Sera asked.

"Like a little flower," Jieun smiled.

Yeojin jumped up. "I'm not a flower. Flowers are weak! I want to be like a big ol' tree... or a boulder."

Sera took her daughter's hand. "Well you should think less about being a boulder and more about not smashing people's property with them." She turned to Jieun and bowed. "Thank you for letting her help, I'll bring her back at the same time tomorrow."

"Wait." Jieun rushed to the back and came back with a little rose in a pot. "I want you to have this, Yeojin."

"But I just said—"

Sera squeezed Yeojin's hand. "Oh what a beautiful gift. Right honey?"

Jieun knelt down and put the flower into Yeojin's hand. "Every flower has its own little story..."

\--------------------

Yeojin went back to the shop every day after school. After about a week, it wasn't even a chore for her. She would be twisting in her chair just waiting to be allowed to leave so she could spend more time with Jieun.

Eventually, Jieun taught Yeojin the ins and outs of the shop. First, she learned about the different herbs and how each one helped people, then she learned how to give change back to the customer after they purchased something. She was so impatient for customers to come in that she would stand on the sidewalk and call out to random people, telling them to go in and, "buy something." Jieun managed to calm her down... somewhat.

After each day, Jieun would give Yeojin a small cut of their profits and Yeojin would juggle the coins in front of Sera's face saying, "Look, look how much money I made today!" Then, they would go to the corner store and Yeojin would buy herself a snack. School with Lena, herbal shop with Jieun, then back home with Sera. This little cycle was the happiest period in Yeojin's life... then she met the person who would help change it forever.

He was a frail little boy who approached her as she was standing out on the sidewalk one day.

"Hello." The little boy's hair was very messy and his clothes were ragged.

"Hi!" Yeojin noticed his condition but didn't want to be rude. "Did you want to buy something?"

The little boy shook his head. "I was wondering if you could.. spare some money?" It was as if his voice had been sucked of all of its life.

"Some... what? Um, no I don't... have any to give."

"Oh, okay." The little boy bowed as his stomach roared. He went about his business as if nothing happened. "Thank you."

Yeojin watched as he gingerly made his way down the street, going inside other shops where he probably asked the same question to them. Each time he came out, the sadness seemed to weigh him down more and more. Yeojin couldn't get that image out of her head.

\--------------------

"So, what's it gonna be this time?" Sera asked as she walked alongside Yeojin towards the store where she usually bought her snacks.

"I'm not hungry today."

"Okay I think that's— wait what?" Sera leaned down and raised an eyebrow at Yeojin. "Uh, you're not hungry?"

"Yeah. I wanna save my money." Yeojin puffed out her chest, trying not to show that there was something else on her mind. "I'm a responsible adult with a job now, Sera. I think it's time I start saving money to buy my own house, don't you agree?"

Sera gave her a suspicious smile. "Sweetie, you're twelve."

"Twelve is the new twenty."

"Really? Who said that?"

"The only people who's opinions matter. Me, myself, and Yeojin."

\--------------------

The next day, Yeojin carried the small bit of money she made with her to school and then to the herbal shop. She stood outside again, welcoming customers in and looking out for the little boy. Then she stood there again the next day.

Then again.

And again.

After a week of saving up money, Lena questioned her about the sound that was coming from her pockets during their lunch.

"I don't want to spend any of it."

"What? Why not?"

"Just because."

"Well if you're not gonna spend any of it..." Lena stretched out her hand and smiled. "Why don't you give some to me?"

"Oh! Me too!" Soso said.

"What about me?" Minju also stretched out her hand.

Miya could only shake her head. "Will you guys stop? Let her do whatever she wants, it's her money."

"Yeah..." Yeojin followed Miya's lead. "It's my money and I can do what I want. Shoo!" She playfully smacked their hands away. "Away, you little begging hands! Away!" The irony was not lost on her.

Ever since the day she saw the little boy, Yeojin had been noticing more and more people like him on the streets of Gaoling. Lena and the rest of her friends also noticed them. People wandering the streets without a home, asking others for spare change or food.

It was later that day when Yeojin finally got to empty her pockets. With the sun sizzling above them, a bored Yeojin was inside the shop poking Jieun and asking her to, "make the plants dance."

"Plantbending isn't for entertainment, Yeojin. My parents passed it down to me and—"

Yeojin pretended to fall asleep on the counter and made a snoring noise.

"You— ugh! You're such a baby."

Yeojin could practically hear her shaking her head.

Jieun stepped to the back. "Just watch the counter."

"I can't! I'm a sleeping baby!"

"Hello."

Yeojin snapped her head around and looked down at the little boy who was standing in front of the counter.

"Could you spare some money?"

Yeojin ran around the counter and pulled out a handful of copper pieces before taking his hand and smacking them onto it. "There you go!" She gave him a big smile as her guilt was soothed.

The boy bowed. "Thank you very much."

As he turned to leave, Yeojin grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. "Hey wait, what's you name?"

"Fang."

"Hi Fang! Nice to meet you! I'm Yeojin!" She bowed, whipping her hair wildly from the force of it.

Fang bowed again, his face still colored in dull weakness."Pretty name."

"Thank you! I like your name too!" Yeojin stared at him with a big smile for a few seconds, but he didn't respond. "Can I ask you a question, Fang?"

Fang nodded.

"Do you live by yourself?" Where are your parents?"

"Oh." Fang looked down and kicked his feet, obviously a bit uncomfortable with the question. "Me and my parents live in the center of Gaoling."

"And are you doing okay? Why are you here asking for money?" Yeojin heard Jieun's feet approach and stop behind her.

"Yeojin." Jieun put a hand on Yeojin's shoulder. "I think it's best if we don't ask him all of these personal questions."

Yeojin looked back at Jieun. "But I just want to know." Then she shined her smile back at Fang. "I want to help."

"It's okay." Fang bowed once again. "You've done enough. Thank you again." With that, he made his way out of the shop, stuffing the money into his pockets.

"Did you give him all of your money?" Jieun asked.

Yeojin nodded her head viciously.

"Well that was sweet... and I'm sure it had nothing to do with him being cute, right?"

Yeojin pulled her head back. "What? Eww no!" She couldn't help but blush and tried to change the subject. "Do you know why there's so many beggars going around like him? I see them every day when I'm walking home from school."

Jieun sat back down on her chair and sighed. "Yeah. Well, it's a bit complicated but the Earth Kingdom is going through a rough time right now. People can't afford food and lots had to sell their homes. It's getting really bad. People haven't been coming in here as much either lately."

"Well there has to be something we can do to help!" Yeojin stomped her foot. She accidentally cracked the ground outside, causing a man to trip over it.

"Sorry!" Jieun yelled outside before looking back at Yeojin. "Well any help is good help. Have any ideas?"

Yeojin spent the rest of the day brainstorming ideas for how to help the people in need. She didn't like any of them until she arrived at the last one. Once Sera came by to pick her up, she told her all of the details.

All Sera could do was gasp and say, "That's the best idea I've ever heard in my entire life!"

\--------------------

"That's the worst idea I've ever heard in my entire life." Miya chewed on her food as Yeojin's bright facial expression refused to budge.

Minju playfully smacked Miya on the shoulder. "That hair is the worst idea I've ever heard in my entire life."

"This isn't an idea. "Miya passed a hand through her bowl cut. "This is a gorgeous reality and you're seeing it."

Lena glared at Miya before smiling at Yeojin. "I think it's amazing! And all of us are going to help right?"

Everyone nodded, even Miya. Though she still had her doubts. "Okay but... clowns?! We're not clowns. We don't know the first thing about clowning."

"It's easy!" Yeojin exclaimed, "This is all you need to do..."

"Step right up folks and see the Incredible Clowns in the Park!" Yeojin stood on top of a box, yelling out to the rich people walking by in the park. It was a beautiful morning and all of the girls were in white clown makeup. Yeojin was in charge of getting the people's attention while the rest of them danced, juggled, or told jokes to whoever was willing to hear them. It was one big, unorganized mess.

Sera was there with them as well, mimicking their dance moves with the biggest smile on her face. There was a good amount of money in the bucket beside her, but she knew it wasn't enough. They needed more.

An elderly lady with a can walked up to Seokyoung. "They told me there were jokes here."

"Oh, yay!" Seokyoung leaped up in the air before putting a finger to her chin. "Um, okay! What did the boy volcano say to the girl volcano?"

"What?!" The lady leaned in closer, trying to hear.

Seokyoung repeated, "What did the boy volcano—"

"Oh!"

Seokyoung stood there smiling awkwardly, expecting the lady to say something else, but she didn't. "What— what did the boy volcano say to the girl volcano?"

The lady just stood there, waiting for an answer.

Seokyoung threw her hands up and waved them in the air. "I lava you!"

Yeojin scampered over to the lady. "Haha haha. That was a funny joke— that was a funny joke, right mam?"

The lady still stood there, not saying a word. Then, she simply walked over to the bucket and dropped a couple of silver pieces into it before walking away. Yeojin reached in and showed them to Seokyoung. "Okay, you're up to silver jokes. Think you can hit gold?"

\--------------------

They spent the whole day at the park collecting money from amused rich people. After their clowning, they bought a bunch of ingredients and spent the next day cooking, then the went down to the center of Gaoling and set up a food stand. It was first come, first serve. Everyone was amazed at how quickly the food just... vanished. There were many thank you's and bows from the people that came up to take some food, and everyone lined up in an orderly fashion. At the end of it, there were so many people that didn't get to eat anything, and Yeojin promised them she would do everything she could to bring them food as well. Unfortunately, their efforts that turned out to be a tiny bandage lost in a sea of wounds.

Yeojin continued her daily routine while trying to put a smile on the faces of everyone she could. She and her friends entered earthbending tournaments in the Earth Rumble stadium. Yeojin did alright for someone who hadn't been focusing on her training. Lena and Miya did a bit better and made them a little bit of money, though not all of it went to helping the beggars.

But the tournaments too rare to rely on them, so Yeojin decided to begin working with Sera. She was a housekeeper for the same rich people that Yeojin had practically begged to give her money not too long ago. She got to listen to their conversations and get a peek into how they lived. Through this new perspective, it didn't take long for Yeojin to realize something was wrong... very wrong. While Fang and everyone like him were worried about where their next meal was going to come from, the elite of the society had leftover food that they fed to their pets.

The royal family of the Earth kingdom didn't control anything outside of the capital of Ba Sing Se. Not only did the rich have the money, but they had their own armies too. The armies fed on the growing desperation and grew quickly. People would join the army of any clan they could, they would put their lives on the line just to give their families some money and have a basic meal. Not only were the struggles of the people not a concern for the rich, they were an opportunity.

To add onto this, Princess Kahei had been kidnaped by pirates. It was even said that she willingly went with them, abandoning her family and her people. Everywhere, whispers of the failures of the royal family grew into loud roars.

"It's so bad that their own daughter doesn't want to be around them anymore. If they can't even take care of her, how are they going to fix this mess?"

The dwindling faith and respect the people had for the crown plummeted. An intense rage bubbled beneath their feet. Yeojin could see it in the faces of everyone she crossed paths with. People were hurting and there was nothing she could do about it. She stayed up at night staring at the ceiling, sometimes thinking back to the day she stopped that thief and how proud she had been. It turned out the thief was carrying food in his bag... maybe she would have been better off just letting him run away.

Different clans rose throughout the Earth Kingdom, all claiming ownership of the crown, all promising a better life for anyone who supported them. Yeojin heard of many battles that took place and all she could do was grow more angry. Instead of banding together and finding a way to dig everyone out of the hole they were in, people were fighting each other just so they could be the ones who sit on the throne. Everything came to head. 

A girl named Yeojin turned seventeen.

It was a hotter day than usual. Yeojin and Lena were in the Gaoling market handing out food when they heard the sound of thousands of feet shaking the earth beneath them. Everyone froze, a thick scent of fear passing by with the warm wind. It didn't take long for everyone to realize what was going on. People ran through the streets, yelling that a red army was approaching. It wasn't the Fire Nation.

Many people fled the area, but many more stayed. It was not a difficult decision for Yeojin. She and Lena stayed there and continued handing out food as the footsteps grew louder and louder. Then... they made their way in.

The words of a red army were true. The soldiers wore the usual Earth Kingdom uniforms but their allegiance was to someone else entirely. There was a carriage covered by red curtains sticking out in the middle of the sea of soldiers. Some carried weapons, others were obviously benders and didn't have the need for any. The carriage came to a halt and out stepped what Yeojin thought was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. She looked like power personified.

Her voice sent shockwaves through the crowd. "People of Gaoling! My name is Queen Jihyo! I'm sure you've heard of me! Well, there is no need to be afraid! I know how much you have been suffering! I am here to help! You are looking at the strongest army in the Earth Kingdom! We will make sure that all crime in the city stops! We are on a mission to take the throne and give it to the ones who deserve it! The people! I've brought food and drinks with me as a thank you to anyone who pledges their allegiance to my clan!"

There was a short moment of silence before a civilian spoke up. "We don't want any more queens!"

The rest of the crowd nodded their heads and spoke amongst themselves in agreement. Yeojin looked back at Queen Jihyo who didn't seemed phased by it in the slightest.

"The problem with the Earth Kingdom isn't that there are kings and queens!" Jihyo yelled again. "The problem is the kings and queens we have right now! I promise to be a benevolent queen who will always have you in my heart! I will always listen to your concerns and never abandon you like they have! Will you join me?!"

Another moment of silence. Some civilians raised their hands. Yeojin could only shake her head at them.

This woman was full of it. Even from where Yeojin stood, she was sure this was an act. Where was she all of those years when Yeojin was there helping the people? The first time she comes into the city is with an army? It was like holding someone hostage with a knife while massaging their back and telling them you're their friend. Yeojin had had enough of this. All of these people going hungry and some goddess shows up promising to make everything better? If anyone was going to make things better, they would have to take it into their own hands.

Yeojin thought about chucking a rock at her head, but one of the soldiers would stop it before it got anywhere near her. Instead, Yeojin looked down at her food and smiled. She grabbed a cabbage and threw it at her. "No more queens!"

The cabbage hit Queen Jihyo square on the temple, sending her tumbling onto the floor. There were some gasps and laughs in the crowd... then, chaos. Rocks and other objects flew towards Queen Jihyo, but her soldiers stopped them all this time. Then, the civilians rushed the army, earthbenders launched boulders at them from rooftops. It was a full-on riot.

Before Yeojin could join in, she noticed a couple of soldiers point directly at her. She took Lena's hand and they bolted out of there.

"Yeojin!" Lena tried hard to keep up with her friend. "What did you do?"

"What do you mean? I started a riot!"

They twisted their way through the streets as Yeojin heard the voices of a few soldiers getting closer behind them. "Stop in the name of Queen Jihyo!"

Panting, Yeojin looked back at them. There were six, but miraculously, none of them had bent any earth toward them. She looked at Lena. "They're not earthbenders. Let's split up. We can take em down."

"Okay!" Lena gave Yeojin a tight squeeze on her hand. "I'll meet you at your house."

Yeojin nodded and the two parted ways. Just as she expected, the group broke off into two groups of three with one of them after her. She was near the edge of the city as she turned one last corner. Then, she lifted a chunk of earth from the ground and chucked it at her pursuers as she spotted them. It managed to catch two of them, but the other was missing. Yeojin looked around, then up in the air... she dodged the oncoming sword just in time and sprinted off into the woods.

Her feet were the only ones doing any thinking. She just continued to zig zag deep into the trees, occasionally looking back and seeing the man with the sword getting smaller and smaller. But still, she didn't stop running and after one more look back... all she could remember was falling and rolling down a hill. Everything happened so fast.

Then she woke up.

Yeojin blinked her eyes over and over, not believing where she was and who was standing over her. It was Sera, and she was in a hospital. She could feel the bandages wrapped around her head. Her arm was in a cast. As soon as she opened her eyes, Sera rushed to her side and took her hand, kneeling down to her level. "Oh my sweet baby, you're awake!" Tears fell down her smiling face as she kissed Yeojin's hand.

"What— what happened?"

Sera let out a big sigh. "Jieun found you in a creek. She was in the forest and she— she said she heard something hit the ground hard. So she ran over and she fought some soldier or something." It sounded like this was the last thing Sera wanted to talk about. She went up to Yeojin's cheek and gave it the biggest kiss Yeojin could ever remember. "I'm so glad you're okay. Please never scare me like that again."

"Sera..."

"Yes dear?"

Yeojin barely had energy to speak. "Where's Lena?"

"I..." Sera stood up and put her hands together. "I haven't seen her."

"Sera... don't tell me that. Please tell me she's okay."

All Sera could do was shake her head and throw her hands up. "I don't know sweetie, I haven't seen her."

"Don't call me sweetie... please, Sera."

"Oh... okay. Is— is there— um, are you thirsty?" She was obviously rattled by the anger in Yeojin's voice.

Yeojin was doing a good job of bottling it up but she could feel her grip on it starting to slip. She felt like such and idiot. "No. I'm not."

Sera tapped her finger on the back of her palm, looked up at the ceiling as her lips shook. Then, she turned around and grabbed a little flower in a pot that was sitting on the window sill. "Jieun left this for you." She set in on a small table by Yeojin's bed with a smile, but it didn't last long.

Yeojin slapped it off of the table and sent it crashing onto the floor. "Please just leave me alone, Sera." Yeojin's voice shook and tears fell down her face. Sera covered her mouth and hesitated before nodding. She left Yeojin there in peace as the sun set outside her window. She looked down at the flower on the floor and felt no regret. She wished she could get up so she could stomp on it.

"This is all my fault," she told herself. If Lena wasn't here, then she must've gotten arrested by the soldiers... or even worse— No, Yeojin refused to think about that. It was her fault for dragging her into all of this and for splitting up. Yeojin thought back to the first day they met.. how long ago it was.

Lena never showed up.

Yeojin only spent one night in the hospital before going back home. She was careful not to show her face out in public. Queen Jihyo's army had control over the city now and there was no telling how many of them had heard about her. Who knows, maybe the queen had put a bounty out for her. The girl who humiliated her in front of everyone. They had probably asked around for her, offering little rewards for any information that they could get. It didn't help that Yeojin had shown her face to almost everyone in the city over the years.

To be safe, Yeojin spent most of her time in the forest. Sera brought her food and water when it was time for her to eat, telling her each time that it was okay to go back inside. Jieun visited her and told her the story of how she fought off the soldier who had been chasing after her. Yeojin didn't take her for a fighter, but from the sound of it, she didn't have much of a problem with him. It reminded her of the days when she would sit on that chair in her shop and tell her all kinds of stories about airbenders and waterbenders and firebenders... 

Jieun also told her that some soldiers had come to her shop earlier and asked around for her. She said that they didn't want to hurt her and Queen Jihyo just wanted to talk to her.

Yeojin just shook her head. "Why would she want to talk to me? She's probably still mad that I ruined her grand entrance and just wants me to show myself so she can humiliate me."

There was nothing Jieun could say to that, except, "That's just what they told me. It's your choice if you want to go."

Before Jieun could leave, Yeojin yanked her arm and gave her a big hug. "Thank you for putting up with me. You're such a good friend."

Jieun pulled back and raised an eyebrow. "Yeojin, why are you saying this?"

Yeojin shrugged. "No reason. I've just always wanted to tell you that. No matter what happens to me, I'll never forget you, okay?"

Jieun stared at her, her face filling with worry. "Yeojin, please don't do anything stupid. I might not be around to save you next time." She turned to leave but then smiled at her again. "I'll never forget you either."

\--------------------

That night, Yeojin went back inside her home while Sera was asleep. She grabbed a piece of paper and a quill before sitting down at the dinner table and writing a letter. Then, she went into Sera's room and sat on the floor next to her bed. She looked down at the letter she had written and read it back to herself in a low whisper as tears fell down her face.

By the time you read this, I'll be gone. I wanted to say it to your face, but I guess Jieun was right. I'm just a scared little flower. I didn't want to see you cry again. Thank you for putting up with me and being the best person I've ever met. You took me in as a baby and always treated me like your own. I wish I had done the same. You don't deserve to be wrapped up in a mess I made for myself, I want to deal with it on my own. I promise you I will come back one day. You can hug me and kiss me and call me sweetie as much times as you want and I'll call you what I should've always called you.

\--------------------

Goodbye mom."

A/N: Thank you all for reading! Updates will happen on a weekly schedule now, every Saturday at 6 ET/9 PT. Kim Lip will be next week! I've also gone back and edited some things in previous chapters (mainly Yves' conversation with the elders in the Air Temple) to have them match up with some new ideas I'll be putting in later. A BIG thank you to @Sanasorbit (for helping me brainstorm ideas) and @purplemic96 (for coming up with the character for IU/Jieun) on Twitter for their help. Give them a follow if you really enjoyed the chapter :)

Elements Under a Moon Soundtrack:

As some of you know, music is a big part of my writing. As a special treat, I made a mix of the twelve theme songs I gave to each of the main characters. Since this is a crossover between Avatar and LOONA, my goal was not only to capture the spirit of the characters, but also have it be a mix between a "classical" style of music and a more modern style. I included timestamps in the description so you can skip around if you want. I hope you enjoy it!

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olQEa-tyumA](url)

I post updates and story polls on my Twitter as well, feel free to follow me!

[https://twitter.com/LLooxix/](url)


	5. Nothing Burns Like the Cold (Jungeun)

_Gasp._ Jungeun woke up to the sound of her heavy breathing, feeling the sweat on her face. She got up and rushed over to her open window, trying to calm herself with a hand to her chest. The crescent moonlight glimmered over the distant ocean and shone off the rooftops of the capital. Jungeun took a moment to inhale the cool wind. She put one of her elbows on the window sill, chin resting on her shaking palm, just staring out at the sight.

It was the first night back in her home since the incident at sea and her shoulder was killing her. She could still feel the sting of the blade, could still see it coming toward her.

After a while of staring to calm herself down, she sat down at her desk and lit a candle on the wall. In front of her was a half-written letter. She spent the rest of her dark morning staring at the paper, writing something, then staring again.

As the sun rays began to creep up over the horizon, she wrote the final word on the letter before shutting her tired eyes and lying her head against the desk.

\------------

Jungeun entered the throne room, her footsteps echoing throughout the dimly lit room. There were pillars on either side of her, forming a path up to the throne where her mother sat with a wall of fire burning behind her.

Jungeun walked up in front of the throne, avoiding her mother’s eyes and kneeling before her. Then she looked up to her. “Mother, I came to apologize for what happened. I take full responsibility and-”

“You were beaten. By a girl who couldn’t bend. Do you know how embarrassing that is? Do you know how this will make us look?” Her mother pushed her hair behind her ear, almost as if she wanted Jungeun to look her in both eyes. “That was pathetic. You are lucky that there were people there to protect you.”

“I know mother. I apologize.” Jungeun cleared the lump in her throat. “I’m going to train harder than I ever have before, I promise you.”

Her mother looked down at her. Jungeun couldn’t get a read on what she was thinking, there was just a cold look in her eyes.

She continued. “I wanted to make sure I still had your faith and confidence."

“Well, I'm not heartless. You are my only child and you always will be... But that little incident on the ship made me realize... I think it's about time you started to take your role as the heir seriously. You never know when me or your father won't be with you anymore. When that day comes, you will be responsible for everyone in this country. Soon, we'll have to find a proper partner for you to marry."

"Yes, of course."

There was a moment of silence, only filled by the sound of fire. Jungeun's mother seemed to be contemplating something. "I don't have the gift of firebending, I had to rely solely on my wits to defend myself... but you _do_ have it. And it pains me to see you not take it seriously.”

Jungeun opened her mouth to talk but the words got stuck for a moment. She knew everything her mother said was right, she was _always_ right. It was understandable that the incident made her feel this way, more than that... it was necessary. "I know mother. I promise I will. Starting right now I'll train every hour of everyday, even when I'm injured. I'll be someone you can be proud of to give the crown to."

"I don't just want words. I want you to show me your dedication."

"Of course. I'll do whatever you ask."

Her mother put her hand on her chin. "Hmm... how about that friend of yours? The one you brought over for dinner."

Jungeun swallowed hard, trying to keep her cool. "Ryujin?"

"Yes, her. I don't like her. She does a good job of hiding it, but I can tell she's unhinged deep down. She seems like the type of person who is only friends with you because of your power. Those kinds of people are dangerous, and you need to eliminate them from your life."

"Mother, I respect your opinion, really. But Ryujin isn't like that. She's just a little... stern. But she's a good friend, not just to me but to Heejin and everyone else."

"Appearances can be deceiving. Do you want to know why I think what I think about her?"

Jungeun just remained kneeling, waiting for her answer.

"It's because she's me. I acted the exact same way when I was her age. If you care about your power, you can't be friends with people like me."

Jungeun didn't know what to say to that. She thought about it for a moment, comparing the two. There were definitely some similarities, but she couldn't bring herself to believe Ryujin was only with her for her own personal gain.

Nonetheless, she still nodded. "Yes mother. I promise I'll be more careful from now on. I won't be around her anymore."

\------------

Ryujin pinned Jungeun down on her bed with a hand on her good shoulder and attacked her lips. Jungeun’s heart beat with the heat of the sun. Her eyes closed, trying to enjoy every little moment. Even with all of her power and prestige, it was _this_ moment that Jungeun couldn’t get enough of. The helplessness, the vulnerability, the feral looks that Ryujin gave her… Predator and prey, she loved every bit of it.

Ryujin pulled back and Jungeun opened her eyes to catch her smiling, then looking at her injured shoulder. Ryujin put her hand on it.

“Ow.” Jungeun grimaced and reached over to Ryujin’s hand but didn’t push it away. “Don’t touch it, Ryu.”

Ryujin stayed staring at the shoulder with the same mischievous smile, her black hair covering one of her eyes like a shadow. Then she looked back at Jungeun and pressed down on it. “What are you gonna do about it, princess?”  
Jungeun gasped in pain and laughed nervously. “What are you doing?”

Jungeun tried to push Ryujin’s hand away, but it didn’t budge. Before she could let another word out, Ryujin kissed her again and put even _more_ pressure on it. Jungeun let out a loud grimace into Ryujin. She clutched hard onto Ryujin’s hand, but was afraid of what would happen if she tried to push her away again.

Then, she felt one of Ryujin’s fingers curl. Her nail pressed down even harder on the bandage. Jungeun let out a muffled yell and finally pushed Ryujin’s hand away. She grimaced, showing her teeth, and hovered her hand over the wound. Jungeun looked back at Ryujin who was still smiling. “What was that about?”

Ryujin had always been aggressive with her. It was one of the reasons Jungeun couldn't stay away from her. Everyone else was always polite and scared to step on her toes, but not this girl. She was different. Maybe a little too much.

Ryujin lied on the bed with her head under Jungeun’s chin, next to the wounded shoulder and lightly tapped the area around the cut without saying anything for a while. When she finally did speak, it was as if nothing had happened. “… So what was it you wanted to tell me?”

Jungeun took a deep breath, feeling the light taps around her wound. She wasn’t even phased by it anymore. Could she really do this? On the way to Ryujin's house, Jungeun had gone through what she was going to say over and over. But just as always, she forgot every single word and became a mess once she was in her presence.

“Um, I…” Jungeun inhaled again, this time a stuttered breath. “I have something I want to ask you.”  
Ryujin sat up immediately, her face beaming, and took Jungeun’s hands. “What is it?”

“Ryujin…” Jungeun shook her head, angry at the fragility of her voice. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

The grip on Jungeun’s hands tightened a bit. “Can’t what?”

“Us. I can't... be with you anymore. I'm going to be married soon, I want to dedicate myself to my firebending, and I can't have any distractions in my life. I want to focus and become the person I know I can be, someone the whole Fire Nation can look up to and be proud of.

Ryujin was glaring a hole through Jungeun. “Is that all I am to you? A distraction?”

“No, no!” Jungeun waved her hands to reinforce her point. “You are far from a distraction. My mother would kill me if she saw us together... but we can still see each other… as friends… until I can get to where I want to be.”

“Where _you_ want to be…” Ryujin just shook her head. “Look Jungeun, there’s no reason why you can't be my girlfriend.”

“It may seem that way to you… but should I really be?”

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, is it really worth it?"

Ryujin raised an eyebrow at her and tilted her head to the side. "Jungie, you’re scared."

Jungeun felt vulnerable again. Ryujin burned away all of her defenses. "What? No. Why would I be scared?"

Jungeun scooted away from Ryujin. She felt a deep desire to guard her vulnerability. Was there some truth to what Ryujin was saying? No. She wouldn't allow herself to even consider it. She had to set the fear and weakness on fire. No more. "I'm _not_ afraid of _anything._ ”

“Then why does it seem so obvious that you are?” Ryujin grabbed Jungeun’s arm and pulled her back next to her. “What are you so afraid of?”

Jungeun couldn’t even look her in the eyes anymore. “ _Nothing_. Why are you asking me this?”

“Because I— Look at me when I’m talking to you.”

Jungeun did as she was told. She had expected Ryujin to be angry, but this was just… Was Jungeun… actually afraid of her? She tried her hardest to bury that feeling. Jungeun could see Ryujin searching her eyes for something, still glaring at her. She needed to get out of there, but there was something about Ryujin’s touch, the rage that she hung onto her arm with… Jungeun couldn’t move.

Ryujin spoke with authority. “You're afraid of what people would think. You're afraid of your mother. You’re afraid of what she’ll do if you tell her about us.” A grin formed on her face. “Well you don’t have to be. You and me, we can stand up to her. We can show her. We can show everyone that there’s nothing wrong with us being together.”

“I…” Jungeun couldn’t even begin to find the words. “I can’t. I love my parents.”

“And if they love you, they’ll understand.”

Jungeun felt the tears welling up inside her. She couldn’t hide from it; she couldn’t hide from Ryujin. The words rose to the tip of her tongue with a burning urge. She wanted _so_ badly to be with her, to just drop everything and fall into her blazing embrace.

But it wasn't about what she wanted. She couldn't be selfish. Ryujin was not from a noble family, so Junguen's parents would never approve of it. Jungeun was their only child. She had to think of her family and put what was best for them first, it’s not like she could just run away from her responsibilities. Not only that, but all of the attention Ryujin would get from being with the princess. If she would were to ever get hurt because of her association with Jungeun...

"I just can't be with you anymore, Ryujin. That's all I have to say."

Ryujin still held onto Jungeun's arm, squeezing tighter, her eyes becoming glossy with buried rage. Suddenly, she _pulled_ Jungeun toward her and they kissed again. 

Jungeun was helpless for a moment, closing her eyes and almost giving in. Then she snapped them open, wrestled her arm free, and jumped up. "Ryujin! I said I can't be with you anymore." Jungeun felt the sting from how deep Ryujin had dug into her arm.

Ryujin walked over to the door and stood in front of it. "I'm not moving until you tell me _exactly_ what's going on. I'm not stupid. I'm not some toy you get to play with until it's inconvenient for you. Princesses aren't the only ones with feelings."

That last sentence was the closest Jungeun had ever seen Ryujin get to crying. 

"What do you want? Can't you see how hard this is for me?" Jungeun threw her hands up in exasperation.

"I want you... to look me in my eyes and tell me you don't want to be with me. Not that you _can't_ , not that you _shouldn't_ , but that _you_ in your heart don't want _anything_ to do with me."

"Ryujin... I said I still want to be—"

"Well I don't. It's either we're together... or we're strangers. Which do you want?"

Jungeun looked past the hair partially covering one of Ryujin's eyes and deep into the crackling flames within them. This had gone on long enough. "I can't be with you. Move out of the way."

Jungeun took a step toward the door but Ryujin didn't move. Instead, the look on her face grew hotter. She spawned a ball of fire in her hand, never taking her eyes off of Jungeun. "You think you can take advantage of me and walk away to your fancy palace and just leave me here without telling me the truth? Are you that weak? Are you that heartless?"

Jungeun looked down at the fire, then back up at her eyes. Was this girl serious? "Ryujin... if you really care about me, you'll let me walk out of here. Stop acting like a child."

Ryujin's eyes widened and she shot the fire towards Jungeun. Jungeun felt the heat rush past her cheeks as the fire narrowly missed her and flew out through the window. She watched it dissipate and then looked back at Ryujin, her own eyes wide in shock. “Are you _insane?_ ”

Ryujin didn’t say anything. She stared at the floor with the same intensity, as if not even regretting what she had just done. She took a step to the side. "Go run back to your mother if that's what you want. I hope you enjoy your waterbending girlfriend."

Jungeun was too startled to even ask her who she was talking about, but it's not like she needed to. Jungeun walked past Ryujin and opened the door before stopping. She didn't know when she would see her again. Even after what just happened, there was something in her that wanted to give Ryujin a hug... but she couldn't.

Jungeun took one last look at her. Ryujin was still holding that intense stare with the glossy eyes.

"I'm sorry," was all Jungeun could say as she stepped out of the room and made her way out into the streets of the capital. 

It was then that she realized just how disconnected she was from everyone else. People walked past her, not even realizing who she was. Maybe some had a suspicion, but the common clothes she wore probably threw them off.

Jungeun walked home alone, the cool wind hitting her face.

\------------

_The Next Day:_

The clouds gathered in the distance. It was late in the afternoon and Jungeun was outside the palace, practicing her firebending with her good arm. She was in a small firebending arena with empty seats forming a square around her. She moved in and out of the shadow cast by the partly cloudy skies as she shot out the flames with all of her built up rage.  
Her grunts and hard footsteps echoed around her. She thought back to the night on that ship, a faint image of Kahei spinning and jumping in front of her.

Then, she heard footsteps approach her from behind. She turned, panting and pushing the hair out of her eyes.

It was Heejin and Hyunjin.

Jungeun couldn't help but roll her eyes and turn her back to them, going back to her training.

"Jungeun!" Heejin's deep voice joined the sound of footsteps and flames that echoed through the arena. "What are you doing here by yourself?"

Jungeun didn't turn around. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

Hyunjin's voice joined the lonely party. "Hehe, you look like a little rag doll bending with one arm."

Jungeun heard a loud, "shhh," obviously from Heejin. If it had been any other person, she might have gotten a little upset, but she was too used to Hyunjin by then.

"Don't you need a training partner to... train?" Heejin asked.

As their footsteps got too close, Jungeun stopped her bending and tried to catch her breath, letting herself collapse and sit on the stone floor. "My master's sick today, so I just decided to do it myself."

Heejin kneeled down and gave her a tight hug, being careful not to touch her bum shoulder. Hyunjin just stood there and waved.

"Are you doing okay?" Heejin asked.

"Yes." Jungeun continued panting as the adrenaline began to wear off and the stinging in her shoulder burned hotter. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Heejin shot a glance at Hyunjin, who returned her look. "Well… we heard what happened.”

Jungeun looked away, her hair shielding her eyes from them. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“That’s fine,” Heejin said. “We just came by to see how you were doing.”

“Well I’m doing fine.” Jungeun couldn’t help but raise her voice. Even being somewhere near the topic was irritating. She just wanted them to leave so she could get back to drowning her sorrows in fire, but they were just being considerate. There was no need to be too rude.

There was a short moment of silence, then Jungeun heard Hyunjin’s soft voice whispering, “Ask her.” She pretended not to hear it and just wondered what it was they were going to say.

It was Heejin that asked her.“Umm, Jungeun? Would you want to go to the beach with us?”

Jungeun shut her eyes and sighed softly. “The beach?”

“We thought you might want to come." Heejin smiled. "You seem… pretty lonely here?”

Jungeun looked back at them. “I’m not lonely. You guys go, I wouldn’t want to be an annoying third wheel babysitter.”

“Well…” Heejin’s worried eyes looked at Hyunjin again, as if afraid of how Jungeun was going to react to what she said next. “Ryujin’s going and she says she wants to apologize and-"

Jungeun immediately rose to her feet and showed them her back again. “Leave. I don’t want anything to do with her.” She ignited a flame in her hand but just looked down at it for a while, waiting to hear their footsteps go in the other direction.

“Jungeun…” Heejin began. “Ryujin is really broken up about this. You don’t have to get back together or anything but if you just let her apologize I think she’d feel-"

“I’m _not_ apologizing to _anyone_.” Jungeun shot the fire straight ahead before turning back to them. “Now let me train in peace like I was doing before.”

Then, something else came out of Hyunjin’s mouth. “Why are you afraid?”

… The fire within Jungeun shot up. “Why does everyone keep asking that?!”

Hyunjin was unfazed by the outburst. “Well Ryujin told us that-”

“Oh so you just choose to believe everything that _Ryujin_ tells you about me, huh?” Jungeun couldn’t contain herself anymore. All of the stress, the expectations, the feelings she had for Ryujin... Everything she had tried so hard to hide began to leak through her mask. “Well what else did she tell you about me, huh? Is my life just a big play that everyone else gets to write?”

Heejin went up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Jungeun, she didn’t mean anything by it. I know you want to be alone, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving you like this. We’re your friends, you can talk to us.”

“I don’t _want_ to talk to anyone. I don’t want to go out and play with friends like a little girl. I have responsibilities to my family, to my country… not that you would know anything about that.”

Heejin raised an eyebrow at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

Jungeun's eyes widened in disbelief. Was she really this clueless? "Heejin... are we really gonna have this discussion? You're the AVATAR and you've never left the Fire Nation. You're nineteen years old and you still live with your parents. You should be out traveling the world and mastering all the elements... do you know how many people would love to be in your position? And you're throwing it away because YOU'RE scared to leave your little nest."

"Leave her alone." Hyunjin spoke with a strength Jungeun hadn't heard before. "Her parents are just worried about her, there's nothing wrong with that."

"Well maybe if she weren't such a weak Avatar, no one would be worried about her dying like—"

Before Jungeun could finish her rant, Hyunjin stepped in front and pointed a finger at her. "Don't you DARE open your mouth about to Heejin like that."

Jungeun looked her dead in the eyes. "Oh, are you babying her too? When are you gonna let her grow up, Hyunjin?"

"Right after I remove my fist from your stupid face if you don't shut up."

"Hey!" Heejin stepped in between them and turned to Jungeun. "We're sorry for bothering you. We'll leave now." Heejin took Hyunjin's hand as they walked away. Hyunjin held her stare for a while before putting her arm around Heejin, pulling her close, and leaning her head against Heejin's.

Jungeun waited for them to be all the way out before going back to her training, this time lifting her injured shoulder and shooting fire from it. She immediately let out a yell and dropped it again. A searing pain ran up and down her arm as she stomped her foot in frustration. The yell circled around her in a mocking echo as she shot out more fire. It was a vicious cycle, the yells became her training partner. Jungeun let out a yell and tried to burn her, envisioning how she would look... Her pretty little eyes cold, her hair an inferno.

\------------

_Gasp_. Jungeun woke up out her nightmare sweating and panting again. She went over to the window, ready to open it, but stopped. It was drizzling outside. 

Not wanting to get her room wet, she ran downstairs and opened up a door that led to the garden. For a while, she just stood there, inhaling the cool air and listening to the rain make music with the grass. 

Jungeun just stared into it, letting whatever came into her mind stand in the rain. Different people stood there, one replacing the other... Her mother, her father, Ryujin, Heejin, and Hyunjin. Kahei also stood there, her face behind the mask.

Then, someone else stood in front of her. It was the other mysterious girl on the ship that night. Jinsoul. Instead of being replaced by another, Jinsoul lingered there... eventually smiling at her and pushing the damp hair from her face. She stretched out her hand towards Jungeun.

Jungeun just stared at her smiling face, completely unlike what she saw before. It was a comforting smile, like someone from her childhood telling her to step out of her home.

Jungeun stepped out into the rain as Jinsoul vanished. She tilted her head up as lightning shot through the heavens. The cold rain was her solitude.

\------------

_Dear Sooyoung,_

_I'm sorry for not writing back to you earlier. To tell you the truth, I've had better days. How have you been since my last letter?_

_I assume you'll be in Ba Sing Se when this gets to you. Unfortunately, I couldn't exactly go on my vacation like I planned. I'm sure you'll know why soon, but I'm fine besides a bad cut on my shoulder. So I'm sorry if my handwriting is messy, but I literally can't use my writing arm at the moment._

_I wanted to ask you something. Something that I think would be good for the both of us, you and my family. The ship that attacked us and stole our belongings was from the Water Tribes. The two people in charge of the ship were Princess Kahei and a pirate named Jinsoul. They are very dangerous and need to be arrested. When this gets to you, they'll probably have gotten off the sea and gone somewhere in the Earth Kingdom._

_Would you help me capture them?_

_My family is ready to offer a big reward to anyone who can. And I'm sure the Earth kingdom royal family would pay handsomely for their daughter too. You'll be speaking with them, but I'm sure it wouldn't take much convincing to get them to help us out as well. If they do, we can talk about what to do with Princess Kahei but Jinsoul would be ours to punish._

_I know you're more than capable of doing it and I would love it if you accepted._

_Love, Jungeun._

\------------

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Next week we will check in and see how Hyejoo is doing before getting a look at things from Avatar Heejin's perspective.

Loo Loo Twitter: https://twitter.com/LLooxix

SMZ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sanasorbit


	6. Agni Kai (Hyejoo)

The door to the headmaster’s office creaked as a solemn Hyejoo stepped outside.

She peered at Chaewon; her usual cheerful expressions had changed to worry and dismay. Yerim, Hyunjin, and Chaewon all stood up with anxious eyes. 

"Good news or bad news?" Chaewon asked.

Hyejoo sighed. “Bad.”

Yerim put her hands together. “How bad?"

“I was expel—"

Hyejoo was cut off before her sentence could finish by the sound of two doors banging against the walls. In came a someone that left Hyejoo speechless. Was this real? This couldn't be real...

The infamous, world renowned firebender, Lalisa Manoban was stomping over to her with a sharp glare in her eyes. Her aura was that of a thousand tigers and Hyejoo was sure they’d pounce any second...

Lalisa set her palm ablaze. "Hyejoo Son?"

Hyejoo was a bit weary of the flame in her hand but she nodded as Chaewon held her hand.

The flame grew ever so slightly bigger. "My name is Lalisa Manoban...I think you know my sister.”

Hyejoo froze upon the realization. One of the girls she had burned was Lalisa's sister... This was surreal. Hyejoo had only ever seen her from afar at tournaments or heard about her in passing. Now she was staring at her with bad intentions. Nonetheless, she stood tall. “No one talks about Chae. No one talks about my mother."

“That’s quite bold of you to say after you had the nerve to harm my family!”

"Hey..." Yerim stepped in between them and pleaded with Lalisa. "You have all the right in the world to be angry... but please, no one else needs to get hurt. She's going to be punished for what she did. My dad will make sure of that."

"That's not enough. It's not only gonna be me that wants her punished. What about all of the families of the girls she hurt? She needs to be taught a lesson that you can't just go around burning people like that."

"She _does_... but not with violence. Please."

Lalisa stayed staring at Hyejoo.

Her heart was racing, but Hyejoo remained a statue. "So what now?"

"What now? I'll tell you what now..." Lalisa put her flame out, pushed past Yerim, and grabbed Hyejoo by the her shirt. "Next week. You and me. Agni Kai. I'm going to make an example out of you."

Hyunjin grabbed Lalisa's arm and forced it back to her side. "You look prettier like that."

Lalisa let out a chuckle before giving Hyejoo one last look. "Don't you even think about hiding." She made her way way out of the school.

\------------

"Just exactly what was going through your mind?" Hyejoo's father was pacing around the living room with Hyejoo sitting alone. It was about the fifth time he had asked that question and Hyejoo couldn't even look at him.

"They provoked me. They were spreading rumors about Chaewon being airbender. They talked about mom."

Her father sighed and tapped his foot. "That doesn't mean you go burning other people because they hurt your feelings."

"It's not just my feelings. It's—"

"And _now_ you're telling me you were challenged to an Agni Kai by _The_ Lalisa Manoban?!?!"

"I'm not going to—"

"No. You _are_ going to. It's time that you start taking responsibility for your actions."

Hyejoo finally looked up, eyes wide in fear. Was he serious? He couldn't... he couldn't be... "But father, I can't win." She's one of the best firebenders in the world."

"You see? That's the thing about you that I can't stand. You're always doubting yourself. You have no drive, you have no ambition, Hyejoo."

"I'm not doubting myself. I'm being realistic."

"Oh you're being realistic? Well let me give you a little more realism... You got yourself expelled from the academy. You burned those girls, Hyejoo. You burned them... because you couldn't control your emotions. What am I supposed to do with you? Don't you feel any shame?"

Hyejoo did her best to cage those thoughts. They _did_ provoke her. They put Go Won's life in danger by spreading those rumors, they talked about her mother... Hyejoo felt the shame shaking the cage in her heart. What would she be admitting if she let it out? That it _was_ really all her fault? That she was an uncontrollable monster provoked by the smallest insult? She couldn't do that. She couldn't give in to that feeling. Ever.

With teary eyes, Hyejoo found the strength to look at her father. "They shouldn't have done what they did."

\------------

_The next day:_

The sun was shining down with a gentle breeze. Hyejoo and Yerim faced each other on top of a hill with Chaewon and Hyunjin looking on from the side.

After the argument with her father, Hyejoo had agreed to go through with the duel. Even if she knew she was going to lose, the realization of what people would think of her of she refused pushed her to do it. It would be worse than being known as a weak firebender... she would be a coward. The girl who burned the defenseless and refused to fight someone face to face. Hyejoo couldn't allow _anyone_ to think that.

Yerim was going over basic defensive stances, almost like she was choreographing a dance as she moved. "I don't want you attacking her first. Stand your ground, block her fire, move around and use all the space you have if you have to. Wait for the right opportunity."

Hyejoo watched her sister demonstrate how she moved and defended herself; always standing firm or moving backwards and side to side. It was a style that was was very uncommon and probably better suited for and airbender, but Yerim was almost a master at it. Hyejoo had the, "standing firm and blocking," part down for the most part, but she wasn't nearly as fluid with her movements.

"Stop being so stiff!"

"You can do it Hyejoo!"

Hyunjin and Chaewon were both encouraging her in their own ways.

After spending a good amount of time practicing defense, Yerim clapped her hands together and smiled. "Okay. I think its time to _really_ train."

Yerim forbid Hyejoo from firebending and had her practice what they had gone over. Yerim played the role of Lalisa, even mimicking her mannerisms from what they had seen at tournaments. She moved forward, putting constant pressure on Hyejoo, but all of her fire was weak and died quickly, it was never intended to actually hurt anyone.

Hyejoo kept up at first, using what they had practiced, but eventually Yerim found her way through and knocked her onto her back. 

Yerim offered her hand. "Not good enough. Let's do it again."

Hyejoo slammed her fist on the grass. "That's not fair. I can't use my firebending to defend myself."

Yerim's smile faded away. "You think you're the only one with that problem? You should have thought of that before you burned those girls." 

Hyejoo stared at her sister, the sun creating an aura around her face and casting a shadow on it like it had done to her mother in her dreams. Her eyes were holding a controlled flame. Hyejoo saw anger, disappointment, love. It was a side of Yerim she rarely saw.

She took Yerim's hand and stood up.

\------------

_One week later:_

Hyejoo sat in the contestant waiting room with Chaewon and her sisters. She was wearing a red outfit with no sleeves and pants cut above the knee. The chatter of the crowd growing louder and louder.

The Agni Kai between Hyejoo and Lalisa had been turned into a spectacle. As soon as word got around that Lalisa would be participating in a _real_ fight, outside of a tournament, the owners of the Fire Coliseum moved quickly to organize and promote it.

Posters were hung all over the city, all of them portraying the fight as, "Lalisa's Revenge," and how she was going to get even with Hyejoo for what she did to her sister. As much as it got under Hyejoo's skin to see the fight taken advantage of like this, she couldn't help but feel like she deserved it.

Of course, all of this couldn't be possible without Lalisa being okay with it. But not only was she _okay_ with it, she was embracing it. Hyejoo had heard about what she was saying, how she was not going to hold back, how Hyejoo was weak little girl and how she was going to make her pay for what she did.

At first, Hyejoo had only been reluctant and even scared of Lalisa. She still was... but now, with what she had turned all of this into, Hyejoo also felt an intense motivation to prove everyone wrong. She was sick of being called weak and useless.

Chaewon must have notice Hyejoo's shaking hands and held onto them. She didn't say anything and neither did Hyejoo. Chaewon's hands were as soft as clouds and gave her some calm. 

"I'm gonna go check if Heejin is here." Hyunjin got up and gave Hyejoo a hug before making her way out of the room and turning into the hall.

Yerim also gave her a hug. "I love you so much. Remember what we practiced okay?"

Hyejoo nodded and held back the lump in her throat. Yerim looked at Chaewon, then at their hands and smiled before leaving them alone.

They sat there for a while, just listening to the sound of the crowd. It was a tide of emotions for Hyejoo. She would imagine herself getting burned and get scared, then she would find solace in Chaewon's company and her anger and motivation.

Chaewon smiled and looked at Hyejoo with an aura of care that she had never seen before. "I never thanked you for looking out for me."

"Oh." Hyejoo let out a quiet, nervous laugh. "You didn't did you?"

"No..." Chaewon held on tighter to her hands. "You're always protecting me, even over the tiniest thing. All of this happened because of me, if it wasn't for me you wouldn't have gotten mad and—"

"No. Hey..." Hyejoo tilted Chaewon's head up with a finger. "It wasn't your fault. I don't regret what I did. I'd do it again if I had to."

A tear fell from Chaewon's eye and onto Hyejoo's hand. "But why? Why are you so concerned about what happens to me? I'm just a nuisance to you, I'm holding you back. I only get you hurt."

Hyejoo thought back to all of the times she had stepped in to defend Chaewon through their childhood. She had always been an odd girl, reluctant to make any friends. Even with that, she had a bright personality and always stayed positive. That's what had attracted Hyejoo to her all of those years back.

Chaewon would get bullied for being a non-bender and, they would never admit it, but probably for being much prettier than they were. They were jealous. Chaewon always drew the eyes of the boys in their class, but she never gave them any attention. Instead, she chose to spend time with Hyejoo. 

Eventually, the bullying turned to rumors of Chaewon being an airbender. Hyejoo would sometimes end up in the headmaster's office for getting into altercations with the girls spreading them. This led to even more rumors of them being more than just friends and getting outcasted in their class.

Through all of that, Hyejoo never once felt sorry for herself. She always made sure Chaewon was okay.

"I don't care about getting hurt." This was almost always the truth for Hyejoo, but this was much different.

"What if..." Chaewon held her mouth open, like the stubborn words were hanging onto her tongue and refusing to let go. "What if we ran away?"

"What?" Hyejoo was so shocked that she let go of Chaewon's hands. "What did you say?"

"Why do we have to keep living here? We're old enough now. We can make our own decisions... right?" Chaewon's voice was shaking. It was obvious she hadn't thought this through a lot. Maybe it was something that came to her at that moment.

"Don't be stupid Chae. You have school, you have a family. I have my sisters."

"Well maybe my family would be safer without me here... and you— you... I don't want you to keep getting hurt. I don't want you around your dad anymore, okay?"

Hyejoo shook her head. "Chae, stop this nonsense. I can handle it. I'm not a weak little girl, I'm not. And neither are you. We are not running away." She took Chaewon's hands again. "You don't have to worry about anything. I'll always be by your side."

Chaewon managed to smile through her tears. There was a long moment where only their eyes spoke. Hyejoo felt a warmth in the pit of her chest. It was not a warmth spawned from anger. Instead, it was as if Chaewon was hugging and kissing the cheeks of her soul.

Chaewon scooted closer to her, her face painted in rosy red blush. Her eyes were sparkling. "Hyejoo, I—"

"Hyejoo! It is time!"

They both let go of their hands and moved away from each other as a man dressed in fancy clothing walked through the door.

"They are waiting for you."

\------------

Dark clouds of gray and deep orange hung over the coliseum, pierced by a bright ray of light. Two shadows were drawn onto the stone surface where they would fight.

Hyejoo stood opposite of Lalisa who was clothed in red and black. She looked over to the side where her dad Chaewon, her sisters, and Avatar Heejin were watching on. She didn't dare look at the crowd.

The fight would only stop when someone got burned.

_BOOM._

The powerful sound of the gong vibrated through the coliseum. The crowd roared. Lalisa charged forward.

With her heart practically jumping out of her chest, Hyejoo ran forward a bit and crossed her arms, blocking the first flame that came her way and pushing it to the side. 

She felt the heat on her arms. Her heart beat with the force of a thousand drums.

_"Move from side to side, evade, let her come to you..."_ The words echoed through her mind and she followed them. They kept repeating the same song and dance over and over. The crowd grew restless.

"What's the matter?" Lalisa stopped bending and put her hands on her hips. "Lose your nerve?"

Hyejoo didn't answer. She knew it was just a trick to get her to make a mistake. Which meant her strategy wad working... and it was making Lalisa angry.

Lalisa waited for a response before turning to the crowd. "Hmph. Just like I thought! Hyejoo is a little scaredy cat! Aw! The poor thing! She goes around burning innocent people and doesn't have the guts to fight!"

The crowd booed. They hurled insults at her. Hyejoo tried to block them out but most got through. Still, she stood her ground.

Lalisa put her hands up, as if begging her to attack her. "You're not getting out of this unless you fight back. Stop hiding... or do you want me to tell everyone about you and your little airbending friend?"

"Leave her out of it..." Hyejoo's voice was low. It took all of her will to not charge directly at her.

Lalisa put a hand to her ear. "What was that?"

"I said leave her out of it!"

"Oh I think it's a little too late for that..." Lalisa turned her back to Hyejoo. "HEY EVERYONE! I HAVE A DIRTY LITTLE SECRET TO—"

Hyejoo finally ran toward her. Fueled by her anger, punched a flame at Lalisa's back... but she lowered herself into a splits, dodging the fire, and hopped back up.

Lalisa let out a grin. "Was that so—"

"Shut your mouth. I'm not gonna let you lie and put her life in danger. You'll have to speak over my dead body!" Hyejoo's flame grew twice as big as her last. 

Lalisa almost looked surprised as she dodged it, but still kept her grin. "You'll have to do better than that if you really care about her!"

Hyejoo dug deep inside herself and unleashed an uncontrolled wave of fire with a burning yell. Lalisa leaped above the flames and redirected some of it toward Hyejoo.

Hyejoo gasped and barely had enough time to get her arms up to block the fire. She screamed in pain as it burned her arms and knocked her onto her back.

Lalisa sprinted over. Hyejoo gather all the energy she had into a ball of fire, ready to launch it, but Lalisa grasped her wrist and SLAMMED her foot against the side of Hyejoo's face.

Everything became foggy. Sounds were distant. Hyejoo looked around, trying to find Chaewon but she couldn't see straight. There was a ringing on the side of her head that had hit the pavement.

She could hear Lalisa yelling something at her, but it took a little while before she could discern it.

"Look over to my sister and apologize to her!"

Hyejoo's face was pinned to the ground. She looked in the direction she was being forced to. There was an elderly man with a scowl on his face standing next to a girl wearing bandages on her face.

Those girls had done their best to make Chaewon's life miserable. Hyejoo couldn't even remember the amount of times she had to console her. It had gone past the point of childish name calling, this was Chaewon's life they were messing with. She was not going to apologize.

She shifted her eyes to Lalisa. "She shouldn't have been playing with fire."

Lalisa stepped down harder on her face. "Apologize!"

"Enough!"

Hyejoo looked around for where the voice had come from. She quickly found the man standing next to the bandaged girl again. It was him.

He yelled again. "There's only one way this girl will learn her lesson!"

Hyejoo felt Lalisa's foot and grip on her wrist loosen. It was obvious what the, "only way," was. Hyejoo swallowed hard. Fear spread through her body... but she didn't scream and she was too dizzy to put up any fight. She accepted what was going to happen.

She heard screams from the opposite side. They sounded like they were coming from Chaewon and her sisters. 

The crowd cheered for it.

Hyejoo shut her eyes and imagined her mother's face. "It'll all be over soon. Stay strong..."

"Oof!"

Hyejoo felt a sharp gust of wind and Lalisa was sent flying. Hyejoo looked up and saw Chaewon's terrified face help her to her feet.

Chaewon caressed the sides of Hyejoo's face. "Are you okay? I was so scared I—"

"Chae... what did you..."

Heejin, Yerim, Hyunjin, and their dad ran over to them as everything went quiet.

Then... "She's an airbender!" It was the same man standing on Lalisa's side of the arena. "She ruined our sacred tradition!"

Chaewon wrapped herself around Hyejoo's arm. Yerim, Hyunjin, Heejin, and Hyejoo's father stood in front of them as the man walked over to them. The crowd grew louder again. Hyejoo held her aching head, still trying to see clearly.

Lalisa dusted herself off as the man, her master, put a hand on her shoulder. 

He looked at Hyejoo's dad and grinned. "Manshik... Are you actually going to defend this girl?"

Hyejoo's dad stepped forward. "The fight is over Hyunsuk! Lalisa won, just let it be."

Hyunsuk scoffed. "I always knew you were soft..." He shifted his focus to Heejin. "I don't want to hurt you again Avatar. I don't want to hurt any of you... I only want to give the airbender who interrupted our tradition what she deserves. She took away Lalisa's vengeance, now she must pay it back herself. Please make this easy on yourselves and step aside."

None of them moved. Lalisa went to Hyunsuk and softly spoke to him. It seemed like she was trying to convince him to walk away.

Heejin spoke up. "What do you mean again?"

"Don't listen to him," Hyunjin said.

"Oh you poor thing..." Hyunsuk shook his head. "You really don't know, do you? How is it possible for you to have lived this long and still not know?"

"Shut up!" Hyunjin lit a flame in her hand but didn't look like she was going to do anything.

Hyunsuk looked down at it, then at Hyunjin. "Put that thing away, girl. You're in over your head." He looked down the line at everyone who was in front of Hyejoo and Chaewon with an intense glare. "I'm going to give you to the count of three to step aside. One..."

Suddenly, Yerim jumped in front of Manshik and shot a bright, purple pillar of fire at Hyunsuk. It managed to catch him off guard and knock him back.

"Everyone run!" Hyejoo's dad grabbed Yerim by the shirt and yanked her back. She took Hyejoo's arm and everyone ran toward the tunnel on the opposite side of the coliseum. Hyejoo looked back and saw her dad standing between them and Hyunsuk as he stood up. Lalisa stared at them but didn't chase. Hyejoo's legs were moving by themselves. Holding tight onto Yerim and Chaewon, they ran under the shadow of the tunnel and maneuvered their way toward the exit.

The entire crowd was cheering for the next Agni Kai that had begun.

\------------

A/N: Sorry for the delay everyone! Promise it won't happen again :). Next week will be the first Heejin POV chapter, then....

Haseul.


	7. Hiding in the Shadows of Madness (Heejin)

All of her life, Heejin had been hiding, her face half covered in shadow.

She was the Avatar. The one and only. She was destined to master all four elements, traveling the world and bringing peace wherever she went.

Day by day, the leaves of infancy fell from her tree of life. Childhood cherry blossoms bloomed in solitude.

Heejin would look out to the sea and smile at the sight, letting the sun's rays wash over her face. She would watch the tide pushing in and out from her bedroom window. "I wonder what makes it do that? I wonder what happens when you get to the horizon?"

She would look up at the sky and wonder what else there was out there. How would it feel to fly like... The monotonous streets of the Fire Nation capital couldn't be all there was to the world.

She wondered what other types of people there could be out there. What kinds of friends could she meet? What kinds of problems were people facing that she could help them with?

Every question was met with her parents' dismissal. 

"You think too much about those things, dear. It's best if you just focus on your schoolwork."

"But I'm the Avatar," she would say. "Aren't I supposed to think about those things?"

"The world is already at peace. You have nothing to worry about. Think of all of your friends you would be leaving if you left... all of your family..."

As more seasons passed, those same eyes that once looked up at the sky with wonder slowly fell... now reading words on books and making sure her tears didn't fall onto the pages. She was homeschooled by her mother.

Heejin was incredibly lonely.

The only kids her age that she knew were her cousins, but they couldn't visit every day. Whenever she would ask her parents why she didn't have any brothers or sisters, they would just say that she was enough for them.

Heejin didn't have any friends... until she turned ten.

On this day, her parents decided to hold a birthday party for her on the beach and invited some eager neighbors so she could get to know their kids.

She was so excited to finally get a chance to make some friends, but when the moment came... Heejin found it difficult to interact with anyone. She had no idea how to connect with the other kids. The whole day passed her by without her first friend. She sat by herself at a table eating cake as the wind blew.

This was when she met a curious girl who she had never seen before. The girl sat across the table from her and just stared with a slight smile, waiting until Heejin swallowed her piece. 

"Can I have some?"

Heejin looked around, unsure of who she was. "You don't look familiar. Did my parents invite you?"

She shook her head. "I just want cake. Can I have some?"

"Umm..." Heejin looked around again. Her parents were busy talking to some of their friends. "Okay! But eat it fast."

Heejin slid her the only remaining piece of cake left and watched her take every last bite. After she was done, the girl politely stood up and bowed. "Thank you so much. Please thank the baker for me."

Then, she just started walking away. Heejin watched for a bit, before racing over and stopping her. "Wait!"

"Hm?"

"Umm..." Heejin pulled on her hair and kicked her feet in the sand, unsure of what to say next. "I'm Heejin. What's your name?"

"Hyunjin. Nice to meet you."

"Oh... yeah! Nice to meet you." Heejin giggled. Every other time she had tried to interact with someone, she had introduced herself as the Avatar. Since that didn't work, she decided to leave that part out.

"How old are you?" Hyunjin asked.

"I'm ten."

"Oh, I'm almost ten too!"

"That's... good, so..." Heejin felt the words fall from her lips. The awkwardness was setting in but she didn't know when she would get another chance like this... so she just came out with it.

"Do you want to be my friend?"

Hyunjin looked like she was caught off guard by the suddenness of the question, but she smiled and nodded.

Heejin also smiled widely, jumping up and down on the sand. She never expected Hyunjin to respond like that. "Yay!"

After that, they spent some time sitting in the sand, building a sand palace. Hyunjin told her about her sisters and what it was like to go to a school, Heejin told her about how much she wanted to go to school with her and the other kids.

"You should visit my house sometime," Hyunjin said. "I'll introduce you to my sisters and my dad."

"And your mother too right?"

Hyunjin kept her face down, looking at the palace for a while. "Hey, there's something weird in here. Come look."

Heejin crawled over to the other side where Hyunjin was and leaned in closer to the palace, squinting at where she was pointing. "What is it, I don't-"

Heejin's face was driven into the side of the palace, crumbling it all down. She looked up at Hyunjin, her hair full of grains of sand. "Why did you..." As she saw Hyunjin form smile, Heejin took a handful of sand from the crumbled palace and threw it in her face.

Hyunjin was barely fazed and grabbed a handful of her own, laughing as she tried to nail Heejin with it. They spent the rest of their time together that day running, laughing, and throwing sand at each other.

Heejin's parents were concerned about the new friend Heejin said she had made, but allowed Hyunjin to come over to their house a few times a week. Heejin would finish her work early and look outside her window on these days, bouncing up and down on her tippy-toes until she saw Hyunjin.

After almost a year of persuasion from Heejin, Hyunjin and even Hyunjin's dad, her parents finally allowed her to go to school. They made Hyunjin promise to always sit by her and keep a good eye on her.

It was difficult for Heejin to adjust to her new environment, but Hyunjin was always there to help her along the way. She received a lot of attention for who she was at first, but eventually the other kids got used to it and just treated her as Heejin, the kind of awkward girl.

Heejin's parents had always punished her for bending the other elements, but as she grew older, they grew more lenient. Eventually, at her request, they introduced her to a couple of masters who she trained under a couple of times a week. She practiced waterbending and earthbending... but airbending was strictly off limits.

Heejin never really knew why that was. No matter how much she learned throughout the years, the relations between airbenders and the Fire Nation were always a mystery to her...

\------------

They ran out of the Fire Coliseum. Hyunjin had a firm grasp on Heejin's hand as they scurried past some curious civilians and into a dark alley. They sat and hid with their backs against the wall of a home, their loud breaths slowly calming.

The cheering of the crowd became a roar. Someone had been burned.

She looked to Hyunjin... her expressions were always so controlled. Even when her words were armed with anger, her face remained the same. But as the roar of the crowd soared through the city and bounced off the walls of the alley... Heejin saw a crack in her armor.

There was a hint of worry in Hyunjin's eyes, but she turned away from Heejin and stared at Yerim, who in turn was caressing Hyejoo's head in her arms. Chaewon met Heejin's anxious eyes with her own.

Heejin had heard the rumor before. But even if it was true, she never thought Chaewon would ever reveal it to anyone, let alone a coliseum full of people. She would never be able to go to school or live a normal life ever again...

After a little while, Yerim spoke up. “Okay, I don’t think it would be a good idea to go home right now. We need to think of getting somewhere safe. Do you guys know anyone that lives around here?”

It didn’t take Heejin too long to think of someone. “My friend Ryujin lives pretty close.”

\------------

It was decided that traveling as a group would be far too dangerous and one person was picked to go to Ryujin’s home to get her help. Heejin and Hyunjin were the only ones that knew exactly where she lived, but Hyunjin insisted on her going alone. Heejin didn’t put up much of an argument.

As more time passed, the streets became filled with people again. Heejin couldn’t help but overhear many of the conversations taking place. They were filled with venom for airbenders, even for earthbenders and waterbenders. There were talks of, “taking the country back to what it was before,” and, “the foreigners are ruining the Fire Nation.”

All they could do was sit there and listen to it, waiting for Hyunjin to show back up. Heejin couldn’t keep her eyes off of Hyejoo and Chaewon. She had known both of them for a little while, but not as much as she would’ve liked to. Hyejoo struck her as very similar to her sister Hyunjin, though not as quirky and a bit more emotional. She was unafraid of letting Chae cling to her and showing she cared about her. Hyunjin, on the other hand, was also protective of Heejin but it was much more of… a sister relationship. There was a completely different vibe around Hyejoo and Chae.

Hyejoo had Chae’s ears covered so she wouldn’t hear all of the things they were saying about her and her people.

Heejin knew Yerim a little better just because of how outgoing she was. Her parents wouldn’t let her out too much, but anytime she would go over to their home, Yerim would be there to greet her with a big smile. Their dad was always respectful towards her since she was the Avatar, yet he didn’t shy away from giving her a stern talking-to.

“Your parents have been treating you with kid gloves, Heejin. Regular people should always listen and do what their parents say… but you are not a regular person. You are the AVATAR and I’m afraid you don’t really know what that means. We all have a role to play in the world, and it is our responsibility to strive and work as hard as we can to be who we are meant to be. That’s why I’m so tough on my daughters. Us regular people only get one life and we shouldn’t waste any second of it.”

A familiar voice snapped her out of her daydream. She looked over and saw Hyunjin rushing over wearing a hood. Ryujin was with her, as well as another girl, a brown haired girl she was a little familiar with. Her name was Chaeryeong and she was an earthbender.

"Okay we're here." Hyunjin picked Heejin up by her arm pits as everyone else stood up.

Chaeryeong stomped on the ground, opening up a hole. "Get in everyone."

They didn’t waste any time and one by one, they jumped down into the hole. Before they ran off, Heejin gave Chaeryeong a big hug and thanked her for what she was doing. She also hugged Ryujin and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You are a lifesaver!"

Ryujin wiped it off. "Please don't do that ever again."

\------------

With Chaeryeong leading the way, they moved quietly through the underground tunnel that she was digging. Ryujin and Yerim were both carrying lit torches that casted shadows onto the narrow walls around them. Chaeryeong had long ago closed up the hole she had made in the alley.

Heejin stared at Yerim's orange fire... In the coliseum she had unleashed purple fire, a color she had heard only dragons could create. "Yerim..."

"Hm?" Yerim looked back. "Did you need something?"

"Yeah, I wanted to ask you something. How... did you bend purple fire?"

Yerim turned back forward, all of the attention was on her. "The truth is I don't really know. It just kind of... happens whenever I get really angry- which isn't that much."

She looked back again for a second, this time eyeing her sisters; Hyunjin walked with Heejin, and Hyejoo was in the back with Chae and Ryujin behind them.

Yerim took a deep breath. "The first time I remember it happening was when we were little kids. Our father would push us so much to be better and I got really... upset. After my father saw that, he made me promise not to let anyone know about it. He knew I would get so much undeserved attention and privilege if anyone ever found out about it. He was afraid of how people would treat me... He wanted me- he wanted all of us to earn what we got. So I swore to him that I would never get angry. I would never fight if I didn't need to."

Ryujin spoke up from the back. "I thought dragons were the only ones who could do that."

Yerim audibly smiled. "My mother said I was born on a night when two dragons danced. They were the original firebenders... And no one ever sees them anymore because people know they have the power to burn down a whole city. That's why I firebend like I do. It's a dance for me, not something that should be used for brute strength. I never want to hurt anyone ever again, but I will if they are threatening my family."

"Hyunsuk is a monster," Chae added, "My parents told me all about how much he hates airbenders. It's because of people like him that we can't live in peace. They said that in the past, airbenders used to be able to show who they are in the Fire Nation. I hope Hyejoo's dad made him regret everything he's done."

Heejin looked at Hyunjin again. She was looking straight ahead, face unmoved... as if she wasn't even paying attention to what they were talking about.

"What were you thinking when you did that?" Hyejoo sounded like she had been holding this in.

"What do you mean?" Chae asked, "I was thinking you were gonna get your face burned."

"So what?"

"What do you mean so what? I was worried about you."

"I don't care if you were. That was stupid. Do you know how hard life is going to be for you now? Next time I want to get my face burned off for you, just let me okay? I deserved it anyway."

Chae stopped. Then everyone else stopped.

"That's not true." Chae furiously shook her head. "You didn't deserve that. It was harsh what you did... But those girls had it coming. They were terrible, entitled and... They were putting my life and- and my family's lives in danger. You know that's the truth so don't you ever say that you deserved that again. I don't wanna hear it. You're a good person."

With eyes full of tears, Hyejoo looked down at the ground and said, "I'm not."

\------------

Eventually, they arrived at the other end of the tunnel. It turned out that other end led to Ryujin's basement and they spent no time making their way out. Ryujin led them out of the darkness and up some creaky wooden steps to her living room. Sitting on the lone red couch was a girl with her hair tied up into two pigtails. Her name was Yeji.

Everyone except Hyejoo bowed to Yeji and greeted her politely.

The red curtains were shut, shrouding the room in an ominous orange muted light. The place was modest enough. Ryujin did well for herself and her mother, all things considered.

"You guys can sit down," Ryujin made her way towards the kitchen. "Yeji, Chaeryeong. Come help me with the food. Hyejoo looks like she needs to sleep for a bit. Chae...won right? You can take her upstairs. There's a couple of beds in my room on the right.

Hyejoo really did look like she needed to rest. Her eyes were droopy and she had been complaining about her head hurting. It seemed like she had suffered some type of concussion from how hard Lalisa had stomped her head into the ground.

With their arms linked, Chae led Hyejoo upstairs. The rest sat down on couch, listening to the commotion that was going on outside.

Once again, Heejin noticed Hyunjin's blank stare looking at the curtains. It seemed like she had nothing on her mind... and at the same time, everything.

Heejin took her hand. "Everything's going to be fine. Your dad is the strongest person I know."

Hyunjin just looked at her and nodded. "Mhm."

\------------

After eating, all of the girls went up to Ryujin’s room and brought a bunch of blankets down to the basement. They used one of them to cover up the tunnel and agreed that if anyone suspicious came knocking, they would all jump back in and hide as long as they needed to. They could all try to go back home if they wanted to, but it wasn’t about them. It was about Chae and protecting her from whoever wanted to harm her. She had just interfered in an Agni Kai in front of a large group of people. They had even more of an excuse to make an example of her now.

Chae, Hyejoo and Yerim made a pile of blankets and lay down together. Heejin and Hyunjin shared another pile. Heejin didn't get any sleep and she was sure Hyunjin didn't either. She just had her eyes shut, pretending. Hiding.

Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yeji all went out to get a feel for the situation. Heejiin told Ryujin about her cousin and asked her to get him to come over. After waiting in the dim basement for what felt like forever, they finally came back.

Heejin’s cousin was the first to walk down to greet her. Heejin ran over and wrapped her arms around him. “Jungkook! You don’t know how relieved I am to see you.”

Even in the darkness, she could still make out his slightly messy hair, parted to both sides. His face was both fierce and comforting. “Are you guys okay? I tried to find you when you ran away but you just kind of… disappeared.”

“You were there?” Heejin asked. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Jungkook scratched the back of his head and chuckled. “Uhhh… Your parents don’t really let you out much so I didn’t think you’d be there?”

Heejin almost gasped. “What about my parents? Have you seen them?”

Jungkook shook his head. “I’ve been out looking for you but gave up after a while. Your friends came by a little after I went back home.” He looked at Yerim and pointed at her with a smile. “You’re the purple fire girl! Yerim right?” Then he pointed at Chae. “And you’re the airbender Chaewon! You’re both really brave for what you did.”

They both bowed and gave him a warm greeting.

Jungkook’s expression turned dark. “Everyone’s been looking for you, Chae. Not just you, but any airbender they can find. It’s getting out of hand.”

Ryujin stepped in to add something. “They’re saying airbenders need to go back to where they belong, that they don’t respect our culture… and anyone who helps them is a traitor.”

Hyejoo was still lying down in her little corner with her arms spread out. “So I guess that makes everyone in this room.”

There was a moment of silence.

“General Hyunsuk is the one who’s been getting everyone riled up,” Jungkook said. “He-” He put a fist over his mouth, as if immediately regretting even starting the sentence. “Um…” Then, he leaned into Heejin’s ear and whispered something.

Heejin jumped back and looked at him with wide eyes. She couldn’t believe what he had just told her. “Why would you tell me that?”

Jungkook shrugged and whispered to her again. “You’re their friend. You should tell them.”

Heejin looked at Hyunjin and her sisters, then whispered to Ryujin. “Please tell me this isn’t true. I can’t…”

Ryujin’s face was all she needed to see to know that it WAS. Heejin shook her head and whispered back to Jungkook. “Tell them for me please. I don’t want to… I can’t.”

“Heejin, I love you, but you’re the Avatar. You can’t hide from these things forever. They’re going to find out eventually, don’t you think it would be better if they heard it from you?”

Heejin just kept shaking her head. Her eyes were tearing up as she looked back at her friends. “I…” It sounded like her voice was going to collapse. She could see in each of their faces that they already knew. She didn’t want to be the one that broke them, but at the same time… Jungkook had a point. She couldn’t hide forever. There were going to be dilemmas much bigger than this in her future. She had to stand up and face the sooner or later.

Heejin flipped her hair back and took a deep breath. “Uh… Oh, I don’t know how to say this…” She covered her mouth and couldn’t fight back the tears. Then, she felt Ryujin’s hand on her shoulder.

“Your dad died," Ryujin said.

Heejin was in shock at how nonchalantly she had said that.

Yerim’s hands shook. Her eyes shifted around the room. Then she went over to Hyejoo and buried her sobs into her embrace.

Hyejoo’s eyes were frozen. There weren’t even any tears, it was as if she was just in complete shock. Heejin couldn’t imagine what was going through her mind. Chae joined them and began whispering something into Hyejoo’s ear.

Hyunjin didn’t do any of that. Instead, she walked up to Ryujin and asked, “Why are you lying?”

Ryujin raised an eyebrow. “Why would I lie about something like this?”

Heejin stepped in between them. “Ryujin, let me talk to her.” Then she looked at Jungkook, Chaeryeong, and Yeji. “You guys too. Can you give us a moment?”

They all nodded and walked back upstairs. Yerim’s sobs filled the room, each one cutting deep into Heejin’s heart.

“They weren’t there.” Hyunjin’s eyes were burning.

“Hyunjin…” Heejin had no idea what to say. “I know… this is hard to believe, but it’s true. Jungkook would never lie to me.”

Hyunjin just shook her head. “They don’t know anything and neither do you.” She stuck her finger into Heejin’s shoulder. “So stop saying things you don’t know.”

“Hyunjin, you’re scaring me.”

“And you’re scaring my sisters, so take back what you said right now.”

Heejin had never seen her act like this. It wasn’t just a matter of protecting anyone, she was clearly hurting and doing everything she could to hide her pain. They had lost their mother when Hyunjin was very young and now… Heejin took Hyunjin’s finger off of her shoulder and hugged her. “It’s okay to cry. I’m here for you.”

“Stop.” Hyunjin tried to wiggle free but Heejin hung on tight. “Heejin, I said…” Her voice shook and she sounded like she was about to give in… Then, Heejin gasped as Hyunjin pushed her away. She flew back, crashing against the wall. Her head snapped back and hit as well as her back. She fell and sat on the cold ground as she watched Hyunjin stomp her way upstairs.

“Hyu…” Heejin reached out at her for a moment, before realizing she wasn’t coming back. She just sat there in the shadows, her messy hair covering the tears in her eyes. One by one, they fell down her cheeks and hit the floor.

\------------

They spent several days hiding in the basement. Hyunjin made Yerim trade places with her and hadn't spoken with Heejin besides the words, "pass the bread." Heejin attempted to apologize multiple times but she never got a response.

Jungkook visited every day, bringing them food, and letting them know what was going on outside. Heejin had asked him to tell her parents that she was fine, but she didn't want them to know where they were. If they did, they would almost surely rat them out to the authorities for their own good. They were putting up posters on every street corner, telling people to turn in any airbenders they see. Any person caught hiding an airbender would also be punished.

Hyejoo and Yerim's faces were being used on the posters as the, "Twin Traitors," and there was a special reward for anyone who turned them in. At first it was just a vigilantes going out and hunting down airbenders, but now.. The queen had put her seal of approval on it and gotten the military involved. They were systematically going door to door looking for them.

Jungkook also told Heejin what they were saying about her. Queen Zohyun was offering her a deal: If she came out of hiding and publicly said that airbenders should not live in the Fire Nation, they would pardon them allow Chae to leave in peace.

Heejin could never accept this. Even though she had barely left her home her entire life, she still knew the power her words held. It was still her responsibility to do what was best the whole world. Giving her blessing to all of this did not sit well with her. people would be forced out of their homes, lives would be ruined. All for what?

But as much as Heejin wanted to go and tell her off, she remained sitting in that basement. No matter how much Jungkook, Yerim, and Ryujin tried to get her to go out and say something, she just couldn't. Everything had come at her so fast. She had never had to make a tough decision in her life... and now she was supposed to help decide the fate of an entire group of people?

She was petrified.

That all changed one day, when there was a knock on Ryujin's door. She was out at work. Everyone followed the plan. They put out the torches and jumped down into the tunnel, pulling the blanket back over it to cover it up.

They heard the door open... then, a pair of steps walked around upstairs. The steps slowly came down to the basement. As they walked around, Heejin got ready to do her part. They walked closer to the blanket... then they fell in.

Yerim and Heejin lit their torches. It was a Fire Nation soldier and he was scared to death.

Wasting no time, Hyunjin tossed his flimsy helmet aside and wailed on his face. Even after he was long knocked out, she didn't stop punching. Heejin put her hand over Hyunjin's shoulders to stop her, but thought back to the day she shoved her against the wall and left her alone.

They ended up tying his hands and feet together, then wrapping his mouth shut with a random blouse Ryujin had in her room. It was then that Heejin got the courage to show herself. How many times would they need to do this? How many people were going to get hurt because of her cowardice? She couldn't hide from life forever, she couldn't wait any longer.

In case things went south, she decided to take Jungkook, Hyunjin, and Yerim with her. Ryujin insisted on going as well, but everyone agreed that it was too dangerous to risk upsetting Jungeun. So, she begrudgingly agreed to stay with Chae and Hyejoo.

Before they left, Heejin wanted to make sure she and Hyunjin were on good terms. So, she asked her to come up to Ryujin's room so they could speak in private. It took a little while, but she eventually met her there. Hyunjin shut the door behind her and sat down on the opposite side of the bed with her back turned to Heejin.

Heejin put her hand on Hyunjin's shoulder. "I wanted to make sure you were... okay with going."

"Of course. I'm not gonna let you go without me."

"You know Hyunsuk will probably be there..."

"I know."

Heejin bit her lip, her hand still on hyunjin's shoulder, hoping she would turn around and look at her again. "Are you going to be okay? I don't want you to do anything stupid."

"Like what?"

"Like... attacking him or making him angry or-"

"Why would I do that?"

"..." Heejin wasn't sure how to respond without making her upset again. How could she get her to drop this act? It was not good for her to hold all of this pain inside. In all of their years together, Hyunjin had never touched the topic of her mother. Now, she was refusing to deal with this. She had to get her to open up somehow...

Heejin held her hand. "Remember the day we met? You came up to me because you wanted some cake and we made a sand palace together?"

Hyunjin looked down at their interlocked hands and nodded, her eyes still avoiding Heejin's.

"And then you smashed my face into it?"

They couldn't help but laugh at the memory. It was as if they were still those little girls sitting on the beach all those years ago.

Heejin hung on tight to Hyunjin's hand as she finally finished the question. "Why did you do that?"

Hyunjin turned away from her again. Heejin already knew the answer, but she desperately wanted her to say it herself. 

Hyunjin took a deep breath... "I don't know. I'm just like that."

Heejin couldn't help but give her a smile full heartache. She had always been like that... Heejin scooted over to her and leaned her head on Hyunjin's shoulder. "I'm always here for you if you ever want to talk, okay? It's fine if you don't want to. I'm sorry for trying to force you to do it."

Hyunjin dipped her head lower, letting her hair hide her face. She sniffled and nodded as Heejin wrapped her arms around her.

\------------

They entered the dark throne room where the queen sat, fire burning behind her. There were three others sitting in front of her. The first was General Hyunsuk, the second was the king, Jungeun's father (who was named Jongsu), and the third was Jungeun herself.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Avatar!" The queen opened her arms, like an aunt welcoming her into her home. "And Hyunjin! Who are the other two?"

"I'm Jungkook Jeon, my lady."

"I'm Yerim Son."

They all bowed.

"Ah, yes..." Queen Zohyun tapped her lower lip before pointing at Yerim.

"You're the purple fire girl who caught Hyunsuk by surprise. I have to say, you really made an impression him. He hasn't stopped talking about you since it happened. He says you have the spirit of a dragon in you. You should be very proud."

Heejin looked at Yerim, who was visibly conflicted on how to take that compliment. Heejin could tell she was doing her best to hide her anger. 

Yerim bowed again. "Thank you, my lady."

The queen waved away that label. "Please, there's no need for formalities. Call me Zohyun... And I take it you came her to agree to my offer?"

Heejin stepped forward with slight hesitance. "I came here so you could explain yourself."

"Hm?" The queen's ears perked up.

"I want to hear you explain why you want me to say these things. I love airbending. The hatred I have seen for them all of my life has never made sense to me. I think we should be working together to fix the relationship between airbenders and the Fire Nation so we can continue living together."

Heejin noticed everyone's reaction. The queen looked like she was genuinely contemplating what she had said. General Hyunsuk was grinning, King Jongsu looked like he couldn't care less, and Jungeun looked like she didn't want to be there.

Heejin focused on her. "Jungeun, you know I'm right."

Jungeun looked unsure of herself, but then glanced at Zohyun. "I agree with my mother. This is best for everyone... the relations between the airbenders and the Fire Nation can't be saved anymore. It's best for them to go back to their temples where they belong and won't be harmed."

Heejin couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Hyunsuk was still grinning. Heejin had told Yerim and Hyunjin to not get angry, but even she couldn't contain her rage. She wanted to rip that smile off of his face. "Why are you smiling?! Hm? Who do you think you are to take someone's life and when their daughters are here you smile in their faces?!"

"Who am I?" Hyunsuk's smile vanished. "I see you haven't been communicating with your last lives, Avatar Heejin. You and I know each other very well."

Heejin felt Hyunjin and Jungkook's hands on her shoulders.

Hyunsuk continued, "Be honest with me Taeyeon... Do you really not recognize me?"

Heejin froze. The rage she had just shown had dissipated. "Who- Who's Taeyeon?"

Hyunsuk laughed. "Wow, I knew you were being babied but I never expected this. You don't even have a clue of who you are. Ask your friends, I'm sure they'll be happy to tell you."

Heejin looked at Hyunjin who stared back at her. "Who is she?"

"Heejin..." Hyunjin had devastation written all on her face. "Taeyeon was one of your past lives. She-"

Heejin slapped her hand away and stepped back. She was breathing rapidly. None of this seemed real... it all had to be a dream. Her sweet mother would wake up to go to school any time now. "What do you mean? Why didn't I know this? Why do you know?"

Zohyun spoke up. "You were just a little girl, no more than four years old when your parents brought you in and told us you were the Avatar. I expected them to be delighted to have the Avatar as a daughter, but they seemed mortified. They told me all about how they wanted you to know nothing about your past, how they wanted to protect you and make sure you had a normal life. They would raise you to be a good little citizen of the Fire Nation who would be on our side when she grew up. Of course, there was no way they could ever keep you from knowing about your identity and they humored you by letting you practice the other forms..."

Heejin couldn't speak, she could barely even form a coherent thought.

Zohyun continued. "Since the world has been at peace, we decided to go along with it. I remember one day, your mother came to me talking about how much you wanted to go to school and play with the other kids. So, we made sure every teacher you've had was been forbidden from ever telling you about your past. Your best friend? She couldn't be your best friend without first making a promise to your parents that she would do everything she could to be by your side and protect you from the truth."

Heejin looked at Hyunjin again, this time not even sure who she was. Jungkook hugged her from the side and spoke softly. "Everything's going to be fine. Just breathe."

Heejin pushed him away. "Who are you? Are you really my cousin or are you just pretending?"

"What? Heejin, you know me. Of course I'm your cousin."

"How do I know that? How do I know when everyone has been lying to me? You, Hyunjin, my parents... everyone. I..." Heejin looked around the room, unsure of what to do.

"We just wanted you to be safe," Hyunjin said.

"Safe? Safe from what? What are you protecting me from?"

At that moment, Hyunsuk stood up. "I think this little charade has gone on long enough. Avatar... two lives ago, you were known as Avatar Taeyeon. I knew you. I killed you."

All of the breath left Heejin's body. Hyunjin rushed over to her and held her up as she wept. Jungkook and Yerim also joined them. These weren't tears of sadness, they were full of anger. How much of her life had she wasted being coddled by everyone? How many people out there in the world could she have helped if she actually thought for herself and didn't do everything that she was told to do?

"Alright, that's enough," Hyunsuk said. "I think it's time you..."

The words trailed off, disappearing into a dark abyss that she fell down. The embraces of everyone around her vanished and she was left floating over a scene in mist. There were three people there. One of them was Hyunsuk, a much younger Hyunsuk. The other two were women standing in front of him.

One looked to be even younger than Hyunsuk. Her tall frame was clothed in blue and her face held an intense gaze.

Heejin felt a strong connection with the other, even though she had never seen her before. Even in her old age, her beauty was striking. She wore the orange outfit of the Air Nomads.

Just as their fight was about to begin, the Air Nomad turned to the skies, looking directly at Heejin. Her lips didn't move but Heejin heard her voice and saw the face of her youth. Was this Taeyeon?

"Find me..." 

She disappeared into mist.

At that moment, Heejin felt all of Taeyeon's emotions. Love, regret, happiness, and most of all... anger. All of it welled up inside of her, becoming an uncontrolled force as her eyes snapped open. Everything after that was a blur. All she felt was anger flowing through her body, all directed at this one man. He had killed Hyunjin's father, he had killed Taeyeon. He was the reason she had never known who she truly was. Why was she allowing him to breathe?

Heejin pushed her friends away with a powerful gust of wind and took the fire that was burning behind the queen. She used it to wrap herself in a tornado. She took the earth beneath her feet and launched a giant boulder directly at Hyunsuk, but he propelled himself out of harm's way with a boost of fire from his hands before hiding behind one of the many pillars. 

"Hyunsuk!" Heejin's voice was infused with the power of all of her past lives, Taeyeon had taken over. "There's no where to hide!" She bent a column of fire that wrapped around the pillar and sent Hyunsuk flying back. He quickly got up and dodged another attack before gathering his strength and shooting a giant ball of fire at her.

Without breaking a sweat, Heejin took the fire and spun it into her tornado of rage, making it twice as big. Hyunsuk turned tail headed for the exit.

"Heejin!" The voice was so distant, Heejin could barely hear it. She didn't know who it was and she didn't care.

As she saw Hyunsuk getting away, Heejin gathered a ball of air in front of her. She spun some fire from her tornado around it and launched it towards the entrance.

The pillars along the way crumbled. The entire entrance wall exploded and anything remaining was on fire. The sunlight came through and shined on Heejin's face once again.

Then, everything went dark. She fell back into the shadows.

\------------

 **A/N:** I hope you are enjoying the story everyone!

We have been focused on the Fire Nation for three chapters straight and I know I promised a Haseul chapter, but the momentum of the story is too much to take our focus away from it right now.

So next week, we will have the first split POV chapter to deal with the aftermath of all of this. Then, I DOUBLE promise we will finally get a Haseul POV chapter XD.


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